Chambers Of The Soul
by EmmettMonkeyMan
Summary: Bella lives with her abusive father, Charlie, and her older brother Maxi, and younger sister Harmony. Charlie has plagued their lives for so long that she has almost lost hope. What happens when the new family comes to town? Will she become happy? Or will things from their past keep coming back to haunt them? Warning, sensitive subjects.
1. Isabella Swan

_Chambers of the Soul_

_Summary: Bella lives with her abusive father; Charlie, her older brother; Maxi and her younger sister; Harmony. She almost thinks there's no hope but what happens when the new family comes to town? Will she ever be happy? What if Bella and her siblings became happy and then someone came back to haunt them…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All characters and other twilight-related things belong to SM. I only own the storyline._

* * *

**_Bella Swan POV._**

**_My name is Isabella, but you may call me Bella. I have an older brother, Maxi whose 19 years old and a younger sister, Harmony whose 5 years old._**

**_You would think we're a happy family from those few sentences but we're not. My dad, Charlie and mom, Renee split up when Harmony was 1. Mom went to Florida and married a baseball player, Phill. We were left with dad because she couldn't handle us. At first dad was okay, he had a hard time coping and kept to himself. Then things changed. He was late home from the station one day because he went out with the guys for a few drinks. He realized the alcohol took away the pain. He got addicted to it and then started to take drugs. Harmony had been just 2 years old and each night Maxi and I feared for her safety._**

**_I tiptoed my way across the landing to her room. I pushed open the door and took in her tiny form curled up on the bed. The thin adult comforter was only slightly draped over her. She was led on her right side and her left leg was straight out on top of the mattress. Her right leg was bent slightly. I didn't fail to notice the bruises that made their selves visible on her bare feet and legs. Her torso was covered by the comforter and her arms by sleeves. _**

**_I gently brushed the brown mass of curls from her face and shook her a little. "Wake up, sweety. You have to get up." _**

**_She groaned and stretched, wincing as the bruises throbbed. She sat upright in bed and tiredly rubbed her eyes with her battered curled up fists. "Is Dadda gone?" she whispered, her voice laced with fear._**

**_I nodded and scooped her up into my arms and carried her down the stairs._**

**_Maxi was making breakfast as fast as he could go with his stiff joints. He always had the most beatings because he stuck up for me and Harmony._**

**_I set Harmony on a chair and gently handed her a bowl of her favourite cereals. You had to do calm, slow movements around her because she was so alert and anxious._**

**"_Do we have to go to school today?" I whined to Maxi as I swirled my uneated cereal around the bowl. _**

**_He chewed a piece of egg and swallowed it with his milk. "Yes. People will get suspicious. Harmony, you will go to the babysitter okay?" he asked, turning to face Harmony._**

**_Harmony shrugged and winced from the movement. "Okay. And before you start; I know the rules. No tell what really goes on at home, I don't go to school because I can't get there and Dadda says it's to early for me to start, I can't take off my jacket or show any of my bruises." Her face was so serious with understanding. I just wanted her to be happy._**

**_Harmony didn't go to school because Charlie didn't trust her with making friends. He thought she'd slip up and tell people what went on._**

**_After breakfast I went upstairs and covered the bruises on my face with make-up and then I got dressed in a long-sleeved sweatshirt and a pair of plain slouch jeans. I hated covering my body; it was boiling outside today._**

**_I sighed before following Maxi and Harmony up the sidewalk. We dropped Harmony off at the babysitter's house and then walked the rest of the way to Forks High._**

**"_I'll see you at Lunch, stay safe." Maxi whispered as he pulled me into a brotherly hug. _**

**_I hugged him tight. "I will, stay safe too." I waved him goodbye as I slowly limped to homeroom._**

**_I sighed as I slid into my seat at the back of the class. Everyone seemed to stay away from me; the ones that got close enough only did to tease me, the rest just kept to them selves. _**

**_Mr. Hopkins did the register and let us chill out. I did my biology homework. My hand ached from the burning pain that went up my index finger from the night before. Charlie had wacked me across the cheek and I had went flying; smacking my right hand into the glass table._**

**_As I was heading out of the class at the end of the lesson a cold, strong arm pulled me back, making me wince._**

**_I turned, limping, to look at who it was._**

**_No one I had ever seen before. He had a wave of bronze hair that flopped into his topaz eyes. His skin was smooth and pale. He smiled warmly at me. "I'm Edward Cullen, I'm new here, and may you show me where…"he glanced at his schedule "biology is?"_**

**_How hadn't I noticed someone like him in the class?_**

**_I nodded and limped out of the doorway and up the corridor to my next class; biology. What a coincident. _**

**"_Your limping pretty badly, is your leg okay?" Edward suddenly asked._**

**_I nodded and clenched my jaw. "I fell down the stairs." The lie didn't even sound convincing to my ears._**

**_Even if he didn't believe it he didn't say anything._**

**_The rest of the day seemed to go fast after that._**

**_I stuffed my books into my rucksack and limped to the cafeteria. I stumbled over to the table near the back as I spotted a familiar big build. My brother. Just before I fell from tiredness Maxi caught me, slipping his arms under my elbows. He grabbed a chair and sat me down next to him, giving me a worried look._**

**"_I did warn you this morning." I whispered, resting my head against the cool table._**

**"_You didn't exactly word that you weren't feeling well. You just whined about going to school." He whispered, brushing a strand of brown curls from my sweaty face._**

**"_I'm just exhausted." I reassured him._**

**"_Of course you are." He muttered as he pushed a bag of sliced apples towards me. "eat." He demanded._**

**_I sighed and stuck my hand in the bag, pulling a slice out. I gently chewed it, my jaw killing with each movement._**

**"_Oh look the anorexic is eating!" a voice yelled._**

**_I groaned and faced away from everyone._**

**"_What a freak." Someone else muttered. _**

**_Something hit me on the back and I turned a little to see Lauren Mallory glaring at me. _**

**_Maxi's face slowly started to turn red; his whole body clenching._**

**_He was going to burst. _**

**_He got up; knocking his chair over backwards and stormed over to Lauren's table where Mike, Jessica, Eric and Tyler were sitting. Mike and Jessica had shouted out at me._**

**_Maxi thumped his fists hard down on the table, making them all jump. "Don't you dare speak to my sister like that. None of you understand what she goes through everyday of her life. You all have it easy, so carefree. If you have nothing nice to say don't say anything at all! Most things are best to be kept to yourself!" he spat, his teeth gritted._**

**_He stormed away leaving the whole cafeteria silent. He came back to me and saw my tear-stained face. He pulled me into a hug and murmured things to me. _**

**_He then half-carried me out of the double doors and onto the grass outside. As we made our way out there I noticed the whole Cullen table staring at us with worry. That was an expression I wasn't used too._**

**_I sighed as I pressed myself against the soft grass. "I hate it….I hate it." I repeated, my body breaking down. I pulled myself up and began rocking furiously._**

**_Maxi sat opposite me; taking hold of my shoulders. "Bella." He voice was stern but comforting. "I need you to calm down. Deep breaths. Everything's okay, everything's going to be fine."_**

**_I choked on a sob and then collapsed into his arms, clinging to him with dear life. "I just want it to stop…everything to stop…for life to stop…" I cried._**

**_I felt his tears drip into my hair. "Me too, me too." He mumbled. "But we have to stay strong for Harmony."_**

**_When I was calmed down I limped back to the cafeteria with Maxi by my side and slumped down into my seat. I didn't fail to notice the loud gossiping turn completely silent at our entrance. I covered my face with my curls and stared at the table; my appetite gone._**

**_Guilt washed over Maxi's face. "Bella, I have to get to class early, I love you. Wait for me in the parking lot." He kissed my forehead and hugged me before he slowly walked in pain to his class._**

**_I sighed and got out my sketch pad; slowly letting the pen make its way along the page. I ignored the horrible stabbing pain._**

**_My drawings were never happy ones. They were filled with sadness, just black outlined pictures._**

**_I glanced down at my picture. A sad pair of eyes stared back at me. The left eye had a tiny tear in the corner of it. I sighed. Those eyes were familiar; they were my eyes. I flipped to a new page and started to sketch Harmony's curls. I then moved to her eyes and slowly made my way down the rest of her face._**

**_I felt the chairs around the table scrape back but didn't dare look up. Probably people ready to pester me some more._**

**_As I gently shaded Harmony's lips I felt someone nudge my arm. I held in the gasp of pain. I looked up._**

**_Not the people I'd thought I'd see._**

* * *

_What do you think? Should I continue?_

_This is just a tester._

_I have great plans for this story!_

_Please review!_

_10 reviews for next chapter!_

_Savannah_

_xxxx_


	2. The Cullen's

_Chambers of the Soul_

_Summary: Bella lives with her abusive father; Charlie, her older brother; Maxi and her younger sister; Harmony. She almost thinks there's no hope but what happens when the new family comes to town? Will she ever be happy? What if Bella and her siblings became happy and then someone came back to haunt them…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All characters and other twilight-related things belong to SM. I only own the storyline._

* * *

**_Bella Swan POV._**

_**The Cullen's. The girl whose name I think was Alice had nudged me.**_

"_**Can I help you?" I asked, quietly. I wasn't the one for socializing.**_

"_**We saw you alone so we came to keep you company!" Alice squealed, clapping her hands like it was the happiest thing on earth. Way to bubbly for my liking.**_

_**What was I supposed to say to that?**_

"_**Um…thanks?" it was more of a question.**_

_**They all just smiled. I didn't want to be rude but I didn't know what to do so I carried on with my picture.**_

"_**Whose that?" the girl who I think was called Rosalie, asked; peering around the big tall guy to stare at my drawing.**_

"_**My sister." I shrugged, staring at the pencil drawing of Harmony. Why did I draw everyone looking sad?**_

_**I knew what they'd ask next.**_

"_**Why does she look so…sad?" the tall guy asked, staring curiously at me.**_

_**I didn't like it. "She always…um…looks like that." **_

_**Nobody said anything.**_

_**I felt something brush across my back. I stiffened and turned to see Tyler's evil eyes right in front of me. I jumped slightly.**_

"_**Belsie-boo." He breathed; a grin on his face. Dad had taught him to call me that.**_

"_**What?" I snapped and then covered my mouth, he was sure to tell dad that I had answered back.**_

_**He chuckled. "Your daddy will find out about that. Come over my place tonight, baby." He was so close now that I could smell the slight alcohol in his breath.**_

_**I quickly grabbed my 'RAA slip' and handed it to him.**_

_**He smiled, bent around me to grab my pencil and signed his name on the 8-10pm box. He then passed it to me and was off again.**_

_**I closed my eyes for a second before turning back around.**_

_**I stared at his signature. He owned me for 2 hours tonight. He could do anything. Charlie had given me the RAA slip for people who knew what he did to sign it. RAA standed for: Rape, Abuse, Anything. Tyler was just one of the people that did things to me. He often invited his friends over to join us too.**_

_**All of the Cullen's were looking at me. They knew something was wrong.**_

_**I frowned at the pencil he had touch and left it on the table, digging in my bag for the only other one I had. I sighed and sat back.**_

"_**That was weird." The boy called Jasper said to no one in particular.**_

"_**Bella!" a voice yelled. I looked up at Maxi.**_

_**He came rushing towards us and quickly sat down in his seat. "Every time I leave you that happens." He rubbed his forehead.**_

_**I just stared at him. "s'okay."**_

_**He took the RAA slip off me and swallowed. "No it's not. Charlie planned this didn't he?"**_

_**I nodded. "You know it's not the first time, Maxi."**_

_**He shook his head. "You'll have to go otherwise…" he gave me the knowing look which meant 'you'll have severe beatings.'**_

_**I nodded. "Just keep Harmony upstairs with you."**_

_**He nodded. "I will. I saw Tyler, just now. Pretty drunk isn't he." He muttered.**_

_**I looked away.**_

_**The Cullen's were extremely quiet through our little conversation. I wondered if we were saying too much but shook the feeling off.**_

"_**Well I came to tell you that I'm heading home early." Maxi announced.**_

_**I looked at him, curiously.**_

"_**Harmony." He stated.**_

"_**It's not her fault she cries for us. She's not used to it." I muttered. She hated staying with babysitters; she said she didn't feel safe. "Want me to get her?" I asked, begging for him to say yes.**_

_**He shook his head, got up and ruffled my hair. A rare grin appeared on his face. "No chance!" he chuckled before heading off.**_

_**I glared at him and started sketching again.**_

_**This seemed like the longest lunch time ever!**_

_**Why couldn't my hand just stop hurting! I dropped the pencil and pulled my hand under the table. I pulled up my sleeve and stared at the bruises. There was no white. All of my skin was purple and black. I flexed my wrist feeling a bone crick. I clutched at it and just sat there for a while staring at the Cullen's.**_

_**The bell then rang loudly.**_

_**YES! Next lesson, I could finally get away from them!**_

_**I jumped up and pushed all of my stuff in my bag. I heard several gasps and looked up at the Cullen's. I followed their gaze to my right arm. Shit. I forgot to pull my sleeve back down. "I fell down the stairs." I lied as I rushed off, in pain, down to class.**_

_**Heavy steps were behind me. One of them was following.**_

_**The tears were threatening to come and I quickly wiped the ones that had fallen away.**_

"_**Bella!" Emmett's voice called out from behind me.**_

_**I stopped but didn't turn. He caught up with me. "I have next class with you, trig."**_

_**Oh, great! I thought sarcastically.**_

_**When we got to class I sunk back to my normal seat at the back at the class. I was surprised that Mr. Hopkins sat Emmett right next to me.**_

_**I really didn't want anyone sat next to me. I needed my space.]**_

_**A piece of paper came flying across the desk. I looked up at Emmett who was looking at me. I sighed and unfolded the note.**_

_**Black, heavy handwriting came face to face with me.**_

**Hey, Bella. I know you hardly know me since I'm new here but why did you agree to go with that Tyler guy later? I could tell you were uncomfortable. You don't have to answer.**

_**Why did the Cullen's have to be so observant? Maxi and I would have to be more careful now.**_

_**I turned the paper over and wrote down my reply.**_

**It's nothing. I just had too; you won't understand. I don't mind going.**

_**What a lie. I shoved the paper into his arms and he started to read it. He thumbed me up and then sunk down into his seat; listening to class.**_

_**When the bell went indicating home time I ran as fast as I could go without any pain to the parking lot.**_

_**Maxi was clutching Harmony to his right side, gently.**_

_**I smiled at them and made my way over. "Harmony!" **_

"_**Bella!" she shot back and reached out for me.**_

_**I gladly took her. She wasn't heavy but when your whole body was in pain the slightest weight could hurt you.**_

_**I let her play with my hair as we walked home; or I should call it hell. Tonight would be one of the worst night ever. Dad would beat me and then I would have to go to Tyler…**_

* * *

_What do you think? Should I continue?_

_PLEASE REVIEW FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER! :) _

_I have great plans for this story!_

_Please review!_

_3 reviews for next chapter!_

_Savannah_

_xxxx_


	3. Edward Cullen

_Chambers of the Soul_

_Summary: Bella lives with her abusive father; Charlie, her older brother; Maxi and her younger sister; Harmony. She almost thinks there's no hope but what happens when the new family comes to town? Will she ever be happy? What if Bella and her siblings became happy and then someone came back to haunt them…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All characters and other twilight-related things belong to SM. I only own the storyline._

* * *

_**Edward Cullen POV.**_

_**My Name is Edward Cullen. I am 18 years old. I have an older brother; Emmett whose 19 and an older sister; Rosalie whose 19. I have a younger brother; Jasper whose 17 and an younger sister; Alice whose 17. **_

_**My mother, Esme is a stay-at-home mom whilst my dad, Carlisle works as a doctor.**_

_**That's why we moved to Forks; the hospital here didn't have much staff and they needed a new chief of medicine. That's where Carlisle comes in.**_

_**We are all adopted.**_

_**Emmett came into the family first. He was adopted after both his parents died in a car crash at the age of 5. Esme had worked at the adoption and just had to have him. **_

_**Then came Rosalie. Her mother had passed away from her birth and her father constantly beat her. She was taken to the adoption center where Esme adopted her.**_

_**Jasper was next in line. His father had died at war and his mother couldn't cope with the death and so she took Jasper to the adoption. Esme took him in.**_

_**Then the little pixie came along aka Alice. Her parents were friends with Esme and Carlisle and when they struggled to bring her up they turned to Esme and Carlisle. Obviously they took her in.**_

_**Finally there was me. I arrived at the adoption just before Esme quit her job. My mother had been fighting a terrible case of flu in the hospital. Dad couldn't cope seeing her like it when she was barely hanging on. He committed suicide; obviously not worried about me. I was left alone. Esme was aloud to take me in but I was the last one.**_

_**Your probably thinking Esme and Carlisle are crazy taking in so many teenagers but it's a simple reason really; Esme can't have children. It's not because she has some disease or something. She's a vampire.**_

_**Carlisle too.**_

_**We all begged for months to become one too but Carlisle didn't want to damn us to a life that we had no purpose being there.**_

_**After weeks of discussion in the front room we finally won the argument.**_

_**We became vampires.**_

_**I helped Emmett carry the last remaining removal boxes into the front room before I sunk up to my new bedroom. All of my things were boxed up and packed on the floor. I grabbed my book and cd from one of the boxes and started to listen to Yiruma whilst I read.**_

_**I stayed there all night; sometimes watching the world outside. Our house was plonked right in the middle of a dull, green forest. **_

_**I didn't want to look at that all the time.**_

_**Morning came and I got dressed for the new school. That was the worst thing about being a vampire; going to school over and over again. Oh, and the burning sensation for blood.**_

"_**Eddie! Time for school!" Emmett boomed up the stairs.**_

_**I groaned. "Do. Not. Call. Me. Eddie!" I roared.**_

"_**Edward." Esme's calm voice came from the kitchen. "There's no need to shout."**_

_**I grumbled something irresponsible and made my way down stairs.**_

_**Alice was waiting at the bottom. She eyed my outfit up and down and then a small smile appeared on her lips. She seemed satisfied with my choice of clothes. Thankfully.**_

_**I didn't feel like changing over and over again this morning.**_

_**We got into our cars and made our way to the school. It looked okay, I mean it wasn't the best but it wasn't a tip either.**_

_**We grabbed our schedules and I made my way to homeroom. **_

_**The rest of the day went really fast and I found myself at lunch.**_

_**Bella, the girl I had met in homeroom, was walking to a table where a curly brown haired boy sat. When she was inches away from the table she began to fall but the boy pulled her up and sat her on a chair. **_

"_**I did warn you this morning." Bella whispered, resting her head against the table.**_

"_**You didn't exactly word that you weren't feeling well. You just whined about going to school." The boy whispered, brushing a strand of brown curls from Bella's face.**_

"_**I'm just exhausted." She reassured him.**_

"_**Of course you are." He muttered as he pushed a bag of sliced apples towards her. "Eat." He demanded.**_

_**Bella sighed and stuck her hand in the bag, pulling a slice out. She gently chewed it but each chew she did she looked like she was in pain. **_

"_**Oh look the anorexic is eating!" a voice yelled.**_

_**Bella groaned and faced away from everyone.**_

"_**What a freak." Someone else muttered. **_

_**The boy next to Bella looked really angry. He jumped up, knocking the chair to the floor as he went and slammed his fists hard down on the table where the people were sitting who shouted at Bella. "Don't you dare speak to my sister like that. None of you understand what she goes through everyday of her life. You all have it easy, so carefree. If you have nothing nice to say don't say anything at all! Most things are best to be kept to yourself!" he spat, his teeth gritted.**_

_**He stormed away leaving the whole cafeteria silent. He went back to Bella and saw her tear-stained face. He pulled her into a hug and murmured things to her.**_

_**He then half-carried her out of the cafeteria and out into the fresh air. We all looked at her as they passed. Bella looked so weak and fragile and she hadn't smiled once all day. Her chocolate brown eyes held sadness. The boy's eyes looked sad too. Even though he was weak he was stronger than Bella. I just wanted to carry her and tell her everything was alright.**_

_**When I'd sat down next to her in class she kept wincing in pain from something and she leaned against her face and a bit of foundation came off. The skin under it was black and blue.**_

_**Something wasn't right and I was going to find out what.**_

_**Bella came back into the cafeteria with the boy. They talked for a bit until he announced he had to go. I found out his name was Maxi.**_

"_**We should go over there!" Alice grinned. "I mean I need to find things out about her and her brother; I can't see either of their futures!" she looked frustrated.**_

"_**And I can't read their minds." I frowned, trying to focus on Bella's mind. There was just darkness and silence.**_

"_**Nor can I feel their emotions…" Jasper bit his lip.**_

_**Everyone else on the table; Emmett and Rosalie, looked a little confused too.**_

_**So we did what Alice suggested; we went to sit down by Bella.**_

_**As she gently shaded lips on her sketchbook Alice nudged her arm. She looked like she was in pain and looked up.**_

"_**Can I help you?" she asked, quietly. I could tell people didn't talk to her much.**_

"_**We saw you alone so we came to keep you company!" Alice squealed, clapping her hands.**_

"_**Um…thanks?" Bella bit her lip. It sounded more of a question.**_

_**We all just smiled. She glanced at us again before she carried on with her picture.**_

"_**Whose that?" Rosalie asked; peering around Emmett to stare at Bella's drawing.**_

"_**My sister." She shrugged, staring at the pencil drawing of the girl. She looked so sad, both Bella and the girl.**_

"_**Why does she look so…sad?" Emmett asked, staring curiously at Bella.**_

_**Bella squirmed, uncomfortable. "She always…um…looks like that." **_

_**Nobody said anything.**_

_**A boy appeared behind Bella. She stiffened and turned to look straight into the boy's evil eyes. She jumped slightly.**_

"_**Belsie-boo." He breathed; a grin on his face. His mind was hard to read, images of blurs and flashes of things that I didn't want to see came to me and so I blocked him out.**_

"_**What?" Bella snapped and then covered her mouth like she wasn't aloud to talk.**_

_**He chuckled. "Your daddy will find out about that. Come over my place tonight, baby." He was so close to her now that I wanted to push him away. I was slightly jealous but didn't know why.**_

_**Bella quickly grabbed a little slip from her sketch book and handed it to him.**_

_**He smiled, bent around her to grab her pencil and signed something. He then passed it to her and was off again.**_

_**Bella closed her eyes for a second before turning back around.**_

_**I stared at the slip. The boy's signature was scrawled on a box labelled 8pm-10pm.**_

_**We all looked at Bella. Something was definitely not right.**_

_**She frowned at the pencil he had touched and left it on the table, digging in her bag for something. Another pencil. She sighed and sat back.**_

"_**That was weird." Jasper said to no one in particular.**_

"_**Bella!" a voice yelled. Her brother was there.**_

_**He came rushing towards us and quickly sat down in his seat. "Every time I leave you that happens." He rubbed his forehead.**_

_**Bella just stared at him. "s'okay."**_

_**He took the slip off her and swallowed. "No it's not. Charlie planned this didn't he?"**_

_**Bella nodded, sadly "You know it's not the first time, Maxi."**_

_**He shook his head. "You'll have to go otherwise…" he gave her a look which she seemed to understand.**_

_**She nodded. "Just keep Harmony upstairs with you."**_

_**He nodded. "I will. I saw Tyler, just now. Pretty drunk isn't he." He muttered.**_

_**Bella looked away.**_

_**We were all extremely quiet through their little conversation. I wondered what they were saying, it was all too confusing.**_

"_**Well I came to tell you that I'm heading home early." Maxi announced.**_

_**Bella looked at him, curiously.**_

"_**Harmony." He stated.**_

"_**It's not her fault she cries for us. She's not used to it." She muttered. "Want me to get her?" she asked, her eyes suddenly hopeful. **_

_**He shook his head, got up and ruffled her hair. A grin appeared on his face. "No chance!" he chuckled before heading off.**_

_**She glared at him and started sketching again.**_

_**Bella dropped the pencil and pulled her hand under the table. She seemed to flex her wrist because I heard a bone crick. She clutched at it and just sat there for a while staring at us.**_

_**The bell then rang loudly.**_

_**Bella looked relieved and nearly shot out of the cafeteria. Emmett followed; he had next class with her.**_

_**The rest of the day went so slow.**_

_**I stood in the parking lot, leaning against my car and waited for everyone else. I saw Bella slowly make her way down the steps and over to where her brother stood. He held a little girl around the age of 4-6 to his side. She looked petrified and she pushed herself against Maxi. She looked exactly like the little girl Bella had drawn. This was Bella's sister. She looked like both Maxi and Bella. Bella was a fabulous drawer! She gently took the girl into her arms and held her to her side, wincing as the girl's tiny bare foot slapped against her hip. They disappeared down the sidewalk.**_

_**I turned back to the school and all of my family arrived and slid into the car. I glanced at the empty spot where Bella once was and then got into the driver's seat and sped us all home.**_

_**When we got home I kissed Esme on the cheek and made my way to the front room which now held some furniture. Everyone followed me and sat down. Esme carried on cleaning in the kitchen. Carlisle was probably at the hospital.**_

_**I clasped my hands together and leaned on my knees. "There's definitely something up with Bella." I shot out straight away.**_

_**Alice's eyes flickered to me and a smug smile came on her face. I tried to get into her mind but the Chinese alphabet was all I found. I glared at her.**_

"_**Did you see those bruises on her arm at lunch?" Emmett asked.**_

_**We all nodded.**_

"_**And she always looks so sad…" Rosalie whispered; a hint of sadness in her eyes. She was the one I thought would snap at us to leave Bella alone but as I snuck into her thoughts they were filled with questions. She was trying to help Bella too.**_

"_**And she winces a lot." Alice added.**_

"_**She's severely underweight." Rosalie barked in.**_

_**We all turned to stare at her. "What?" we all said at the same time.**_

_**She stared at us like we were thick and showed me a picture of Bella in her mind. Bella was extremely thin. From what I could see of her hands they were tiny and her arms and legs were really thin. Her torso was so thin and you could see her ribs through her top. **_

_**How come we hadn't of noticed except Rosalie?**_

"_**How did you notice that?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.**_

"_**I like to look at every inch of a person when I first meet them." Rosalie smiled, reaching up to brush her hair with her fingers.**_

_**I rolled my eyes and groaned in frustration. Something inside me was telling me something was wrong!**_

_**Esme came and dropped her form onto the couch. "Who is Bella?" her question was directed at me.**_

_**I rubbed my temple. "A girl in school…but it's hard to explain…I feel like there's something wrong…like she needs help or something."**_

_**Everyone nodded in agreement.**_

"_**Yeah, mom, you ought to have seen her….she's so…weak…" Emmett struggled for words.**_

Oh the poor thing, I hope she's okay, I don't know her but I really want to meet her. Maybe I could get to know her parents. Maybe I could help. Awe, it would be nice if Edward got close to her.

_**Esme's thoughts were overpowered by her motherly instincts. I couldn't blame her; I felt protective of Bella too. Maybe we could be friends with her and we could invite her over some day, get to know her more.**_

_**We talked about Bella until Carlisle came home. I went to talk to him about signs of anorexia. I knew one thing from just one day of knowing Bella; she was underweight.**_

* * *

_REVIEW FOR MORE! PLEASE WITH EDWARD CULLEN ON TOP!_

_What do you think? _

_Edward's POV for the first time :) yay! _

_I have great plans for this story!_

_Please review!_

_Savannah_

_xxxx_


	4. Beatings That Serve A Lifetime

_Chambers of the Soul_

_Summary: Bella lives with her abusive father; Charlie, her older brother; Maxi and her younger sister; Harmony. She almost thinks there's no hope but what happens when the new family comes to town? Will she ever be happy? What if Bella and her siblings became happy and then someone came back to haunt them…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All characters and other twilight-related things belong to SM. I only own the storyline._

* * *

_**Bella Swan POV.**_

_**Maxi swallowed before he gently pushed down on the door handle. The door flew open and the smell of alcohol and drugs hit my nose. I wanted to vomit.**_

_**I pushed Maxi in and he ran straight up the stairs with a petrified Harmony clung to his side.**_

_**I was going to take the beatings tonight. I needed too; Maxi had taken so much already.**_

_**I held my breath as I passed the front room. Drugs were sprayed over the little glass coffee table. I made my way into the tiny kitchen and got terrified as I spotted the hunched figure that had his back to me. My father.**_

_**The tears began to drip silently. I knew he'd heard our entrance.**_

_**Slowly he shuffled his chair back. He rested his huge hand on the back of the wooden chair and stared at me with that haunted face. The corners of his mouth were drooped down. His eyes were scrunched up and wrinkled. He blew out through his nose when he saw me standing in the door way. He pulled himself up and charged at me before I even had time to think.**_

_**I went smashing into the hard wall of the stairs. Pain shot up my back and I held in the scream. His huge arms reached forward to grasp my upper arms. I felt his nails digging in to my flesh.**_

_**He was always silent for a while as he gave the beatings. He seemed to talk when I was sprawled on the floor.**_

_**He moved his huge frame forward and slammed his solid work boots down onto my feet that were only covered by socks. **_

_**I hissed in pain but did nothing. How could I? He was huge, I was small.**_

_**I swallowed as his hand reached to caress my cheek. He licked his lips as his head cocked to the side. "My Bella, my beautiful Bella." He groaned as his lips were inches from mine.**_

_**I stiffened as the smell of alcohol became strong. His lips crushed to mine and I felt the rough stubs from where he had shaved.**_

_**I squealed and tried to pull away as his tongue roamed around but he was clinging tightly to my hair.**_

_**I whimpered all the through until he stopped, pushing me to the floor. "That wasn't nothing!" he yelled, pushing my head against the wall. "You need to kiss back, girl! Do you hear me?" **_

_**I nodded weakly despite the pain.**_

_**He laughed humourlessly and bent down to my level. He punched me in the stomach and twisted my ankle.**_

_**I screamed out this time; the pain becoming too much.**_

_**He grunted and got up after I got another slap in the face. He left to go back to the living room.**_

_**Everything was silent.**_

_**I knew Maxi would be waiting for a bit until coming down to lift me up. Charlie wouldn't pester him because he could only handle so many beatings to give us a night.**_

_**It seemed like ages but finally I heard footsteps slowly coming down the stairs. Maxi made his way into my blurry vision and tears streamed down his face. He comforted me as I wailed out in pain as he scooped me up. He was putting pressure on something as he carried me up the stairs. When we reached his room he gently led me on the bed where I cried endlessly from the pain.**_

_**I saw Harmony huddled on the floor in the corner with Maxi's blanket pulled to her.**_

_**Maxi got onto the bed with me and placed his hand against my cheek and then my forehead. "You feel feverish." He mumbled. His other hand was still holding pressure on something near my torso.**_

_**He went somewhere but came back with a wash cloth and a bowl of water. He dabbed warm water over my injuries and did something else to the gash in my torso.**_

_**When he was done he noticed me fading. I felt his index finger lift up one of my eyelids. "Bella?" his voice was frantic. "Can you hear me?"**_

_**I wanted to reply but nothing escaped my lips. I invited the darkness that was tugging on my vision.**_

_**Maxi Swan POV**_

_**I finished cleaning up my sister's cuts and tried as much as I could to treat the gash on her stomach. When I was down I gently rolled her onto her side and rubbed soothing circles in her back. Her breathing wasn't very good.**_

_**I let her grasp my hand but as seconds went by I felt her grip loosen. I swallowed and looked at her. Sweat beads were on her face and mixed emotions of pain were visible. **_

_**I gently lifted up her eyelid. "Bella?" I called, frantically. "Can you hear me?" no response.**_

_**I carefully led down beside her and heard the beating of her heart. "It's okay, honey, I'm here."**_

_**I didn't want her to go with Tyler tonight. I hated it when they got to have her as their own. **_

_**Bella deserved so much more. She didn't deserve any of this.**_

_**Neither did Harmony. I looked over at her small frame cowering in the corner. Our eyes met and she got up to approach Bella and me on the bed.**_

"_**Is sissy okay?" she whispered. Harmony normally never talked above a whisper when Charlie was home.**_

_**What could I tell her? I couldn't exactly tell her that her older sister had gone unconscious!**_

"_**Yes, she's just sleeping." I replied, quietly.**_

_**Harmony pulled herself up onto the bed and rested her tiny hand against Bella's cheek. "Did Dadda go mad again?"**_

_**I hated that Harmony called Charlie 'Dadda' even though he was. It made me mad, not at her but at Charlie. She didn't deserve a dad like him! No one did. She was so little, so innocent and she was already scared of being in her own home! She was petrified of even going outside!**_

_**I took her free hand gently in mine. "Yeah…Dadda had a bad turn." I lied.**_

_**She sniffled. "Is it a bad turn when he hurts me?" her eyes were so big and innocent I began to cry.**_

"_**Yes." I whispered.**_

_**Tears started to drip down her face. "But….what did we do wrong?" I knew that she was asking herself that question.**_

_**I waited for Bella to awake. She could barely walk when she did. The leg that had already been injured had been hurt again. Every part of her body throbbed and she could hardly move her torso.**_

_**Still, she had to go to Tyler. For 2 hours.**_

_**I pulled up at his house and she got out of the car and waved me off.**_

_**I didn't want to leave but it'd just make things worse.**_

_**I checked on Harmony who was cowering under her blanket in the back seat and then headed back home.**_

* * *

_REVIEW FOR MORE! PLEASE WITH EDWARD CULLEN ON TOP!_

_What do you think? _

_Bella AND Maxi's POV! :) Yay! _

_I have great plans for this story!_

_Please review!_

_Savannah_

_xxxx_


	5. The Chief Goes To Dinner

_Chambers of the Soul_

_Summary: Bella lives with her abusive father; Charlie, her older brother; Maxi and her younger sister; Harmony. She almost thinks there's no hope but what happens when the new family comes to town? Will she ever be happy? What if Bella and her siblings became happy and then someone came back to haunt them…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All characters and other twilight-related things belong to SM. I only own the storyline._

* * *

_**Rosalie Hale POV**_

_**I was spread out on my bed in my new bedroom flicking through a magazine but my thoughts were else where. **_

_**The human girl came out to me; like I needed to help her. I knew something was wrong, I think everyone who was at the school did but they were too afraid to take anything further.**_

_**I sighed and pulled my notebook from my rucksack and flipped to a clean page. I started to jot down things that I had seen in Bella since I'd first met her.**_

_**The list wasn't very long but all of the points were negative.**_

_**She was definitely anorexic; I was going to go talk to Carlisle later.**_

_**She was definitely scared of something.**_

_**I heard the front door open and then Esme's light feet padded across the front room. She dropped down onto the couch and I heard her clear her throat. "I met Bella's dad!" she said, happily.**_

_**This was a conversation I wanted to hear.**_

_**I chucked my notebook and pen on my bed and made my way downstairs. Everyone else in the house had come to join and we all took seats on an available seat.**_

"_**So…what's he like?" Emmett asked.**_

_**Esme seemed to hesitate. "He's chief of Police."**_

"_**Cool!" Emmett yelled.**_

"_**That's it? That's all you got?" Jasper asked.**_

_**Esme shook her head. "Well…yes but he's coming for dinner!" she soon brightened up.**_

"_**Dinner!" I choked. "We don't eat!"**_

"_**I have food." She smiled, simply, and went off to the kitchen.**_

_**2 hours later at 8pm Charlie came to dinner.**_

_**The minute I saw him I felt unsafe…well uncomfortable.**_

_**He was tall and looked like he had a strong build. His face had stubble and his curls were messily combed. He had on a pair of black trousers and a shirt and tie. His hands were huge and he walked so confident and he was just…huge…**_

_**As we pretended to eat Carlisle started conversation. "Have you got children?"**_

_**Charlie shifted his position next to Emmett. He hummed a response. "Yeah. A boy and 2 girls." He didn't sound very proud of it.**_

_**Carlisle smiled. "You know they were welcome to come to dinner too."**_

_**Charlie swallowed his food. "My daughter…had plans. My son is babysitter." He managed a smile.**_

_**Esme smiled. "My children know Bella."**_

_**Charlie's fingers tensed around his fork. His eyes slightly angry. He relaxed after a few seconds. "Oh, that's…nice. Bella doesn't socialize much. I think me and her prefer it that way."**_

_**Edward seemed to be concentrating hard on Charlie. I wondered if he could read Charlie's mind.**_

_**Edward shook his head once at me before Charlie could see.**_

_**Wow. What was up with the Swan family? Edward couldn't get into any of their minds!**_

_**After dinner Esme made Charlie stay some more. We all sat in the front room talking.**_

_**Charlie's cell went off. He fumbled for it gruffly and apologized before answering. He looked annoyed. **_

"_**Um…Charlie…it's Bella…it's not good….I…you need to tell Tyler…please…just…this once…I'll do anything tonight…" I recognized Bella's older brother's voice, he sounded sad, panicked, upset…**_

_**Charlie looked even angrier if that was possible. "Where's Tyler and where the hell is Bella. I swear if either of you have…"**_

_**Charlie was cut off by a loud wail in the background.**_

_**Charlie's eyes widened. "And why can I hear Harmony?"**_

_**Maxi took a long breath on the other side. "Bella…needed me so I took Harmony…with me, sir. I…she was scared…I'm sorry…we are still here, we're not doing…anything wrong."**_

_**Charlie sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Okay, well you stay right where you are. Make Harmony shut the hell up and leave Bella be. I'll sort things out later."**_

_**Maxi sighed quietly and hung up.**_

_**Charlie looked apologetic as he closed his phone. "Sorry bout that. You know what kids are like."**_

"_**Is Bella okay?" Edward asked.**_

_**Charlie studied him closely. "She'll be fine. She probably fell down the stairs again or something, that girl; clumsy" he chuckled lightly.**_

_**At 10:20pm he went home. As he pulled away from the driveway I heard him mutter things about his kids.**_

"_**I hate him…he's….scary." Alice said, wrinkling her nose.**_

"_**Was I the only one who noticed the smell of alcohol and drugs?" Jasper asked.**_

_**We all shook our heads.**_

* * *

_**Bella Swan POV.**_

_**Tyler pulled his friend who lived between his legs from me and stood up, roughly. His hand clenched around my top and he dragged me to the wall. **_

_**I had already been here for an hour. **_

_**His friends laughed drunkly as Tyler started throwing punches at my weak chest.**_

_**I was already sobbing. "No….stop!" my knees gave way and I fell to the floor.**_

_**Tyler just laughed harder and crouched to the floor. His breath wafted in my face. "No chance, honey. You're so gorgeous. Mmm."**_

_**After another hour of beatings and things I didn't want to do Tyler dragged me to his car. He pushed me through the open door and I wacked my head hard on the gear stick. I groaned and sat properly as he pulled away, grumpily.**_

"_**2 hours is never enough." He mumbled, glancing at me before turning back to the road.**_

_**I sunk in and out of consciousness the whole ride. I was awake when we stopped a few houses away from my home.**_

_**Tyler reached over me and opened the door. He unclasped my seatbelt and roughly chucked me out of the car.**_

_**I held my hands out as the sidewalk came close to my face. My arms collapsed and my face grazed the hard concrete.**_

_**I cried as I lay there for a few minutes before I pulled myself up, weakly, and fumbled for my cell.**_

_**Blood was dripping from nail marks on my arms and something wet was at the back of my head. My chest was hurting and I felt the blackness coming and the oxygen leaving.**_

_**I managed to get Maxi to answer.**_

"_**Mrs. William's house." I gasped out and hung up, knowing he'd understand.**_

_**It seemed like ages until I heard footsteps near me. I immediately cowered, thinking it was Tyler but then warm, familiar hands were holding me. **_

_**Maxi.**_

_**My breathing was getting harder now and the darkness was drawing with my fight.**_

_**I grasped hard onto Maxi's hand like it would somehow make me stronger.**_

"_**Bella." Maxi gasped, "What did they do." He whimpered.**_

_**I didn't respond, I wanted too but I couldn't.**_

_**There was another set of footsteps, softer now but to loud to be Harmony's. "I've got this, will it do?" a voice I had heard before asked.**_

"_**Yes, thank you Angela, where did you get it?" Maxi gently stroked my cheek.**_

_**I opened my eyes a little and saw a blurry figure of Angela Webber's small frame.**_

_**Angela shrugged. "My little brother had some breathing problems. Everything to help him and some bandages and everything is in there."**_

"_**Would your parents mind us using it?" I glanced down to make out a green sort of thing on the concrete floor and Maxi's hands fumbling through it.**_

_**Angela shook her head and I felt her warm body drop down next to me. I then felt her tiny hand on my back; she gently rubbed it and soothed me.**_

_**My eyesight became clear and I realized the green thing was in fact a medical bag.**_

_**Maxi was looking at Angela curiously as she patted my back.**_

_**Angela smiled weakly. "It helps to get oxygen to them a little."**_

_**Behind Maxi's small smile I noticed the pain in his eyes. He glanced at me and then froze, knowing I was aware.**_

_**There was some type of oxygen mask in his hands and he scooted closer to me. He gave Angela a look that I couldn't make out.**_

_**Angela gently took the mask. "Lie her down and then hold this firmly over her nose and mouth. I think she'd be more comfortable with you doing it."**_

"_**Its okay, Bella. Shhhh." Maxi soothed as I cried in pain as he slid his hands under my legs and led me down onto the concrete. He lifted up my head and then something soft was underneath it. **_

_**There was an exchange of something. I couldn't see it because I was staring up at the dark sky.**_

_**Maxi scooted to behind my head and he smiled weakly at me when he caught me looking. **_

_**Then something came crushing down over my nose and mouth. My hands reached up to drag it off but Angela's tiny hands reached and pulled them down.**_

_**My chest heaved and it hurt as my stomach moved. I squirmed and tried to beg them to take the oxygen mask off but I couldn't speak.**_

_**My body was accepting the oxygen even if I was protesting.**_

"_**That's it Bella, well done." Angela's warm voice praised.**_

_**Angela was the only nicest girl that was at the school. She had never said anything nasty to me ever. She was very kind but didn't know what was happening to us.**_

_**I wasn't going to tell her either, not even if she wanted answers after this.**_

* * *

_REVIEW FOR MORE! PLEASE WITH EDWARD CULLEN ON TOP!_

_What do you think? _

_Rose AND Bella's POV! :) Yay! _

_I have great plans for this story! So please review! :)_

_Savannah_

_xxxx_


	6. Dr Carlisle Cullen

_Chambers of the Soul_

_Summary: Bella lives with her abusive father; Charlie, her older brother; Maxi and her younger sister; Harmony. She almost thinks there's no hope but what happens when the new family comes to town? Will she ever be happy? What if Bella and her siblings became happy and then someone came back to haunt them…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All characters and other twilight-related things belong to SM. I only own the storyline._

* * *

_**Maxi Swan POV.**_

_**I held the oxygen mask over Bella's face. Her hands reached up to try and grab the mask but Angela pulled them down. **_

_**Bella squirmed and wriggled but she didn't go anymore. Her chest was heaving; accepting the oxygen she needed.**_

_**I wanted to kill Tyler for what he did to my sister.**_

_**Angela whispered words of encouragement to my sister so I started to too.**_

_**Bella lost consciousness and I pulled the oxygen away, looking at her worriedly.**_

_**Angela comforted me. "She's hurt; it happens. Let's get her inside now."**_

_**I nodded and I scooped my light sister into my arms. **_

_**We got her into the house and I laid her down on her bed. Harmony watched me as I soothed Bella.**_

_**Angela helped clean Bella's wounds and suggested a number of times about calling the ambulance and police.**_

_**I, obviously, refused each time.**_

_**I told Angela that she could go but thanked her for her help. She shook it off and promised not to tell anyone.**_

_**I stroked Bella's cheek when Angela left. I pressed the oxygen over her face, glad that Angela said to return it tomorrow.**_

_**Charlie came home shortly after that yelling at us about interrupting his conversation with the Cullen's. He punched me for calling him and yelled at Harmony for crying. Since Bella was hurt and unconscious he said he'd have her tomorrow.**_

_**I kept both Harmony and Bella in my room that night. Harmony slept on the top bunk with her teddies and I led next to Bella, giving her the oxygen when she woke up struggling to breathe.**_

_**She needed to go to the hospital.**_

_**It was around 3am when I realized it. I scooped Bella up into my arms and wrapped my blanket around her. I woke Harmony and put on her coat and shoes. We did it all without waking Charlie.**_

_**I was taking Bella to the hospital no matter what would happen to me with Charlie tomorrow for doing it.**_

_**I knew the Cullen's father was a doctor and I knew where they lived but I wasn't going around to their house; I was going to Forks hospital.**_

_**It took us 20 minutes to get there and Bella was desperately struggling for air now. Her crying made it worse. "It's okay, baby. We're getting help." I soothed.**_

"_**Charlie…" she gasped out.**_

_**I understood. "I'll take what ever he gives me for this, as long as you're safe we're good."**_

_**She didn't say anything after that. She drifted off again.**_

_**Harmony held closely to my leg as we walked down the dark sidewalks. She hated the outside world.**_

_**Her puffy pink coat was undone and blowing from the wind. Her Winnie the Pooh pyjamas were probably freezing and her pink little pop-up shoes were dragging across the floor.**_

_**We got to the hospital and the corridors were brightly lit. I leaned against the receptionist desk and she stared at Bella in horror.**_

_**I was gasping now from tiredness. "Please get a doctor."**_

_**She nodded and pressed a button calling 'Dr. Cullen. Urgent.' Over and over.**_

_**So we were going to be treated by Dr. Cullen….good job I hadn't walked through the forest to their house! He wouldn't have been there!**_

_**A man with fair blonde hair came down the corridor with his doctor's coat flowing behind him. He saw all 3 of us standing by the desk and his eyes widened. I didn't know what we looked like.**_

_**We must of looked pretty bad because he ushered us into a room closed off by a curtain.**_

_**Harmony stuck to my leg and I didn't want to let go of Bella.**_

"_**Can I look at her?" Dr. Cullen asked, gesturing to Bella. "I'm Carlisle by the way."**_

_**I nodded. "Maxi." I looked at Bella. "Maxi Swan."**_

_**Carlisle was silent for a moment. "Nice to meet you. Is this your girlfriend?"**_

"_**Sister." I whispered, tracing my hand over Bella's cheek.**_

_**Carlisle couldn't see her; my blanket was covering her face. He nodded. "Okay, I know you don't want to let her go now but I need you to lie her down so I can examine her."**_

_**I swallowed before lying Bella down on the cold table. The blanket moved from her face.**_

_**Carlisle was horror struck at the sight of her. She did look bad.**_

_**Bruises were covering her face and she was sweating. Her breathing was ragged and her chest heaved. She lay there like a limp doll.**_

_**Harmony whimpered and I scooped her into my arms. She buried her face in my shirt and started to cry.**_

_**I stared at Bella as Carlisle went to get some things.**_

_**He pulled the stethoscope from around his neck and checked Bella's heart. The calmness from his face started to drain away as he carried on with the examination. He pressed something and asked for more staff. "Your sister isn't in a very good state right now but I assure you we'll do the best we can." He informed me as nurses and doctors came through the curtain.**_

_**Harmony started to panic as they surrounded Bella. She didn't like strangers and she struggled against me. She was about to scream when I covered her mouth. "It's okay, their not going to hurt her, see? There helping."**_

"_**Will they hurt me?" she whispered as her tears came shooting down her face.**_

_**I shook my head and held her close to me.**_

_**Carlisle noticed how she acted but carried on helping Bella. They started to attach all these monitors and tubes and they placed an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth.**_

_**A nurse came to me as they treated Bella. "Can we inform any adult member?"**_

_**I didn't look at her; my eyes were on Bella. "No, thank you, we're okay, my dad's a cop; he needs his rest."**_

"_**Sir, I think we should call him; your sister isn't in a very good state."**_

_**I looked at her. She had short blonde hair and warm eyes. I shook my head. "No thank you, my sister will be okay."**_

_**She sighed in defeat and said she had to take Harmony and I to the waiting room.**_

_**It was 5am when Carlisle finally came out to see us.**_

_**Harmony was now asleep.**_

_**He took the chair next to me and clasped his hands together like doctors did. His face was solemn. "Bella is stable at the moment but I need to know what put her in this condition."**_

_**I quickly made up a lie in my head. It didn't take long because I was so used to it. "We were walking home from my friend's house and there's a quicker route to our house. We took it and Bella, being the clumsy person she is, was walking up 3 flights of concrete steps and she slipped on ice near the top. She fell…" I whispered. I stared at the floor. "I took her home and thought she was just upset and that she would be okay but then at 3am I realized she wasn't….I didn't wake my dad up because he's a cop and he needs his sleep. I didn't want to worry him." I whispered. I held closely to Harmony as she shivered in her sleep.**_

_**Carlisle studied me closely and he seemed to believe my lie. "Did she fall all the way down the steps or did she just trip?"**_

"_**She fell down all of them." I lied.**_

_**He nodded. "I think we should inform your father." **_

_**I shook my head. "I'll tell him when we go home, he won't mind."**_

_**Carlisle studied me once again but then gave up. "Okay, well we're going to keep Bella in for observation until further notice."**_

"_**What's…what's wrong with her?" I whispered.**_

_**Carlisle sat back and avoided my eyes. "She has multiple bruises, some old some new, she has 3 broken ribs and 1 fractured. She has a hard bump on her brain which will be fine over time and since some of her ribs are broken it's hard for her to breathe."**_

_**I nodded as Harmony started to stir. She clung to me with a terrified face. She looked like a deer that had just been caught in car headlights.**_

"_**It's okay, princess." I murmured. A familiar voice always calmed her down.**_

_**She relaxed just a fraction but then noticed Carlisle. She immediately tensed again. **_

"_**He's helping Bella." I informed her gently.**_

_**A small smile appeared on her lips and she rested her head against me. Knowing she was safe her eyes drooped and she breathed out loudly, her tiny form shifting. She was asleep.**_

_**Carlisle looked at me curiously. I answered his unspoken question. "She's not used to the outside world yet, she doesn't go to school because my dad thinks it's too early. She gets a little scared sometimes." I lied, some of it was real.**_

_**Carlisle got up. "I suspect you want to see her." He turned and headed up the corridor.**_

_**I pulled Harmony to me and got up and followed Carlisle down the corridor. He led me to a closed off room and I suddenly felt nervous.**_

_**I nodded and he slowly pushed the door open, letting me in. I took a deep breath and walked into the room. I didn't expect what my eyes saw.**_

_**Bella was led on the white hospital bed; her skin as pale as the sheets. There was a beeping sound and other noises that sounded like hissing that were all coming from the machines that she was attached too. She was in a hospital gown that they had obviously changed her into; they had seen the bruises then. Her face was swollen like it had been before but now the gashes and other things were cleaned up properly she looked worse. I was glad to see her at least breathing on her own. An oxygen mask was over her nose and mouth but not a breathing tube. She was also sleeping and her eyes were red and puffy.**_

_**I could hear Carlisle's presence but Bella was my main concern. I think I squeezed too hard because Harmony awoke again. She was met with the sight of Bella and she whimpered. She struggled to get down from my arms and so I let her.**_

_**Her shoes padded quietly against the floor as she took light steps to Bella's bed. She turned to Carlisle. "Will you bring my Bella back now?" she whispered. It was the first time she had ever addressed a stranger.**_

"_**Bella's right their, princess." I told her, finally able to use my voice.**_

_**She turned to me. "No, she's not. That's not Bella…"**_

_**I bent down to her level. "It's Bella; she's just…sleeping right now, like sleeping beauty…" I mumbled, remembering the character that was in one of her story books.**_

_**She looked up at me with a small smile. "Is a handsome prince going to come kiss her?" she asked. She turned back to Bella. "Bella's first kiss!"**_

_**I laughed. "I'm not sure, princess. Why don't you sit with her?"**_

_**Harmony sized up the chair and then with a sigh she pulled herself up. She reached for Bella's hand and held it tightly in hers. I sighed.**_

"_**I'll leave you too it," Carlisle said from the doorway. "But don't be long; you do have school in the morning I assume." He winked and left us alone with Bella.**_

_**She didn't look like she was in a very good state so she would be staying in the hospital for a while….Charlie would go nuts and I couldn't leave Harmony with him, she'd have to come with me, to school.**_

* * *

Hey guys, I'm so SORRY for not updating! My little girl was recently diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy this week; a genetic disorder that gradually weakens the body's muscles. It's caused by incorrect or missing genetic information that prevents the body from making the proteins needed to build and maintain healthy muscles.  
A child who is diagnosed with MD gradually loses the ability to do things like walk, sit upright, breathe easily, and move the arms and hands. This increasing weakness can lead to other health problems. It has also affected her brain and so she will very soon lose the ability to see and talk too….

_REVIEW FOR MORE! PLEASE WITH EDWARD CULLEN ON TOP!_

_What do you think? _

_I have great plans for this story! So please review! :)_

_Savannah_

_xxxx_


	7. The Last That You'll See Of Us

_Chambers of the Soul_

_Summary: Bella lives with her abusive father; Charlie, her older brother; Maxi and her younger sister; Harmony. She almost thinks there's no hope but what happens when the new family comes to town? Will she ever be happy? What if Bella and her siblings became happy and then someone came back to haunt them…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All characters and other twilight-related things belong to SM. I only own the storyline._

* * *

_**Maxi Swan POV.**_

_**The next day**_

_**Charlie had already left for work when Harmony and I had arrived back home. He had left one simple note on the table which read; you are dead. **_

_**I didn't let it bother me as I got myself dressed and then Harmony.**_

_**I had rung the school whilst at the hospital to see if I could bring her to school with me. They agreed and said that whilst I was in lessons Mrs. Cope, from the front desk, was going to let her daughter look after her for me.**_

_**Carlisle promised he'd take good care of Bella until I got to the hospital after school and I didn't feel so bad anymore. I could trust him.**_

_**As I entered the hallway of the school building heads looked my way. They were focused on the little girl that was huddled in my arms.**_

_**I ignored their stares as Harmony whimpered. I headed straight for Mrs. Cope's desk but she hadn't yet arrived in school.**_

_**On my way to the bleachers I bumped into the Cullen's. Not good. They were so curious and Rosalie, a tall girl with blonde hair who loved to show her legs, was way too interested in Harmony.**_

_**Harmony tugged on my sleeve. "Bleachers" she stated, pointing.**_

_**I nodded and shifted her to the other side of me. I pushed passed the Cullen's and sat on the 6**__**th**__** row of the bleachers. They followed. What a surprise! Not.**_

_**They took seats around me and Harmony didn't like the new company. She pushed herself into me. "I liked the hospital better." She whispered.**_

_**I chuckled. "Most people hate hospitals."**_

"_**I don't." she said, turning to smile at me. "Have you called a prince yet? Like with sleeping beauty?"**_

_**I shook my head. "I'm still on it, their all busy this week; got balls to go too."**_

_**She frowned. "Typical."**_

_**I had to laugh at that, Bella had a fabulous speech. She used so many long words that it made me sound dull. Harmony just couldn't help but pick them up.**_

"_**Will you introduce us?" Rosalie asked, gesturing to Harmony.**_

_**I looked down at Harmony and then back at the Cullen's. "This is my sister, Harmony."**_

_**Rosalie smiled. "I'm Rosalie. It's nice to meet you!" she cooed.**_

_**Harmony pushed herself into me; her eyes turning glassy. "I'll do anything!" she pleaded. She thought they were going to hurt her.**_

_**My arms tightened around her and I stroked her brown curls, gently. "It's okay." I soothed.**_

_**She struggled against me. "Get off!" I knew the words weren't directed at me; she was having a flashback of Charlie.**_

"_**I'm not him." I told her calmly but let her out of my grasp.**_

_**As soon as she was free she dropped to the floor and hid under the bench; hiding her face with her hands. Her whole body shook. "Don't!" she screamed, her voice full of fear.**_

_**I hated doing it but Bella could always calm her and I didn't know what to do. I dropped to my knees and dragged her from under the bench. "I'm not him." I repeated.**_

_**She tried to scramble away from me but I sat her on the bench and held her hands. "Harmony!" I yelled.**_

_**The Cullen's looked shocked from what had happened but I think they were more shocked with how loud I had yelled at a 5 year old.**_

_**Harmony's eyes returned to normal and she started to cry. I hugged her to me and sat back down. "I'm sorry!" she whimpered.**_

_**I rubbed her small back. "It's okay, you did nothing wrong."**_

_**She sighed and buried her face in my chest. "Can we see Bella now?"**_

"_**Not yet," I told her truthfully. "When school's over. Mrs. Cope's daughter, Sara, will be looking after you whilst I'm in lessons." I told her.**_

_**She frowned. "I can't be with you?" her eyes filled with horror. "What if they…"**_

_**I cut her off with the shake of my head. "They won't."**_

_**She nodded and I stood up because the bell rang loudly. I walked Harmony to the office where Mrs. Cope was sitting with a blonde haired girl around the age of 19 beside her. She smiled. "Maxi!" she peered down at Harmony as she rose from behind her desk. "This must be Harmony." She looked back up at me. "Don't worry; Sara will take good care of her."**_

_**Sara introduced herself and then took Harmony's hand. Harmony tried to protest but then relaxed when I told her things were alright.**_

_**When they disappeared up the corridor Mrs. Cope gave me a smile from behind her glasses and I followed Alice to homeroom.**_

_**When I took my seat Alice turned to me. "Where's Bella?" she chirped.**_

_**I raised my eyebrows knowing that Alice had taken a liking to Bella. "She…she can't be here today." I said, looking down.**_

"_**Oh" Alice whispered.**_

"_**Yeah…I hope she's okay" I muttered.**_

_**Before Alice could respond the bell rang loudly and we were dismissed to our first lesson. The day went by fast except for the Cullen's talking to me when I wanted my space to think about my sister.**_

_**I picked Harmony up from Mrs. Cope's office. I was surprised to see her plonked on the floor with Sara. They were building Lego houses and Harmony was giggling as Sara told her something funny. It was such a precious moment.**_

"_**She's as quiet as a mouse." Mrs. Cope said, watching Harmony and her daughter, happily.**_

_**I smiled. "Yeah, I guess she is. I think she likes your daughter."**_

_**Mrs. Cope agreed. "Sara's been looking for a job for a while now, not to be rude or anything but maybe she could take the role of being Harmony's babysitter? I know your father's having a tough time finding a good one."**_

_**I smiled. "I think Harmony will like that very much."**_

_**Just then Sara came towards us holding a bouncing Harmony by the hand. She smiled at me and held her hand out. **_

_**Harmony let go and came barrelling towards me. "Maxi! That was so fun…we built houses and sung songs and played with toys!"**_

_**The lump rose in my throat as I watched my little sister's happiness. If only she was always like this…if only she could feel safe in her own home.**_

'_**Thank you!' I mouthed to Sara and handed her $15. She tried to give me it back but I turned away and took Harmony down the corridor to the cafeteria. **_

_**When Alice saw us she practically danced over to us and pulled us to her families table. I hated the attention and I hated sitting by people. It was just routine.**_

_**Rosalie was staring at Harmony with so much affection that I thought she was going to burst!**_

_**Harmony wasn't really paying attention to Rosalie though; she was looking around the cafeteria. This was a living hell to her; too many people. "Can I go back with Sara?" she asked.**_

"_**Maybe tomorrow, if Bella still isn't back." I told her.**_

_**Her eyes focused on me. "You need to call a prince. I don't care if they have a ball to go to or not. They need to come give some kisses!"**_

"_**And what are you going to do if they don't come?" I asked, amused.**_

_**Her eyes looked like flames. "I will drag them by their hair and yell at them and then I will torture them until they do." She nodded to herself and leaned back.**_

_**She had gotten that from Charlie; one year he had dragged Bella to the cellar by her hair and had shouted at her until she agreed to go to his bedroom….**_

_**I laughed. "Charming, Bella would be so proud of you." I said, sarcastically.**_

_**Harmony grinned; obviously not noticing the sarcasm and sat back. "Figures."**_

"_**Where is Bella?" Edward asked as he picked at his sandwich.**_

_**I sighed. "She can't be here today." I looked at the table.**_

"_**You said that to me." Alice frowned.**_

_**I shrugged and sat back.**_

"_**I can see that she's not here but why not? Is she okay?" Edward asked, his eyes were full of concern but I couldn't put my finger on why.**_

"_**I…I don't know…" I choked out. "She's in the hospital."**_

"_**What why?" Alice asked, leaning forward in horror.**_

_**Harmony peered at me with sad eyes and I took a deep breath. "We were walking home last night from a friend's and there's a quicker route to our house. We took it and Bella, being the clumsy person she is, was walking up 3 flights of concrete steps and she slipped on ice near the top. She fell…" I swallowed and avoided everyone's eyes. "I took her home and thought she was just upset and that she would be okay but then at 3am I realized she wasn't…."**_

"_**But that's-" Harmony started. **_

_**I gave her the 'don't mention anything' look and she shut up, sinking down into her seat.**_

_**Everyone was speechless. **_

"_**I'm sure she'll be okay." Rosalie reassured me as the silence went along.**_

_**I nodded. I desperately wanted to see Bella but I knew that I would have to wait a little bit longer.**_

_**Edward grew silent for the rest of the day and I wondered why. Did he want to know Bella? Did he like her? Did he want to be more than friends with her?**_

_**I couldn't help but think as I led Harmony to his Volvo. He and Alice offered to take us to the hospital so they could come in and see Bella quickly to make sure she was okay.**_

_**I agreed because a car would get us to the hospital faster.**_

_**We pulled up into a parking slot and Harmony dragged me out of the car. She yapped away to Alice about the prince coming to wake Bella up and suddenly they understood the conversation we had had at lunch. **_

_**I was surprised with how Harmony was talking to strangers today.**_

_**Edward and I walked faster than Harmony and Alice so we were quite far ahead. "I know you hardly know us," he started. "But I think we're going to be good friends, I'm sorry if you didn't want us coming to see Bella; my sister's quite pushy."**_

_**I shook my head. "It's fine, really. Thank you for caring about her…"**_

_**He shook his head to wave my comment off and we approached the receptionist's desk. She noticed me and smiled and signed something down; indicating for us to carry on. She said hello to Edward and to both Alice and Harmony when they arrived.**_

_**I led them to Bella's room and stood outside her room for a bit. The blinds were down and so I couldn't see in.**_

"_**It's okay." Edward said, placing a hand on my shoulder.**_

_**I nodded, took a deep breath and stepped into the warm room.**_

_**Bella was in the same state as she had been before except now the blanket was pulled to her waist and the hospital gown was pulled up to under her breasts. Her stomach was bloated and more monitors surrounded it. "Bella." I breathed.**_

_**I always thought Charlie would go to far someday and one of us would end up in hospital but Tyler had done this…**_

"_**All of this is from falling down the steps?" Edward said in a small voice, astonished.**_

"_**She fell on her front when she hit one of the steps…I think that's why she was struggling to breathe" I lied.**_

_**He nodded. I turned to see Alice looking horrified and upset. "All of this from some ice and steps…" she murmured, taking a step towards Bella.**_

_**5 minutes later we found ourselves all sat around Bella's bedside waiting for her to awake. **_

_**Carlisle came in and was shocked to find 2 of his children sitting with his patient. "Alice, Edward?"**_

"_**Dad." Edward nodded. "We came to see Bella."**_

_**Alice nodded in agreement.**_

"_**Does your mother know?" he asked as he checked Bella's vitals.**_

_**They both nodded.**_

"_**Why's all that on her stomach?" I asked after a while of uncomfortable silence.**_

_**Carlisle sat down. "We needed to insert a chest tube to drain the fluid from Bella's chest. The fluid, medically called **__**Pleural Effusions**__** most likely occurred from a chest injury. We called your dad this morning because with the fluid now in her chest it means it can cause her lungs to collapse and her breathing to stop."**_

_**I said nothing. Charlie knew. He was going to kill us. I wasn't going to last much longer, probably until tonight….what about Harmony? She couldn't get hurt, I had to protect her. I met her eyes and we both swallowed.**_

_**With Harmony being so young she let the terror show. "You called Dadda! But…you can't!" she said, glancing from me to Carlisle.**_

_**The Cullen's were looking confused now but I continued to stare ahead. Harmony's eyes went from terrified to concerned. She rushed over to me and tried to yank on my arm but I didn't look.**_

_**How was I going to try and get us away if he was lurking around the hospital? How was I going to protect Bella? I couldn't ever leave her alone in this room with him, not with her being so fragile. I didn't want to sit in this tiny room with him….oh god, we couldn't escape….he would take Harmony and I down tonight and leave us in the cellar….Bella would be the only one left and he'd get to her with her being here….no…**_

"_**Maxi!" tears were streaming down Harmony's face and I couldn't handle it. She was so little, so innocent…**_

_**Black spots danced in my vision and then got blurry. I felt someone moving towards me and then I was gone into the blackness.**_

_**I woke up a few minutes later with Carlisle hovering over me. My mind was still fuzzy but I managed to sit up. Edward on the right side of me; trying to get me to lie back down and Alice was no where in sight.**_

_**Carlisle shone a light into each of my eyes and then sat back. I then noticed I wasn't in Bella's hospital room.**_

"_**What happened?" I asked, I was still confused.**_

_**Edward pushed me back down as Carlisle started to talk. "You fainted after I told you about Bella."**_

_**It came back to me. Charlie knew Bella was here.**_

"_**I need to puke" I muttered and in seconds I was heaving my guts up into a grey sick bowl.**_

"_**Is it because of Bella?" Edward asked, "She'll be fine, I know she will."**_

_**I nodded because I couldn't possibly tell them it was because Charlie knew.**_

_**When I regained control over my body again they allowed me to go back to Bella. When I entered her room I was surprised to see her awake.**_

_**The oxygen mask was fogging up and her eyebrows were pulled together like she was in pain.**_

_**Harmony was holding on to her hand and talking about some things whilst Alice sat there, looking both worried and relieved. **_

_**I rushed to Bella's side and leaned forward so I was right next to her ear. "Charlie knows…"**_

_**She shivered but not from the cold and stared at me. She nodded once and pushed herself against the pillows.**_

"_**I'll take it tonight." I whispered quietly.**_

_**Bella tried to protest but I shushed her and just watched her for a while until she fell back asleep.**_

_**That night Harmony and I were dragged home by Charlie.**_

_**Little did people know that that could be the last time they'd ever see me or Harmony.**_

* * *

Haven't updated in a month and 1 day but I've been so busy since we're now caring for a terminally ill child but I hope you like this one.

_REVIEW FOR MORE! PLEASE WITH EDWARD CULLEN ON TOP!_

_What do you think? _

_I have great plans for this story! So please review! :)_

_Savannah_

_xxxx_


	8. MY Bella!

_Chambers of the Soul_

_Summary: Bella lives with her abusive father; Charlie, her older brother; Maxi and her younger sister; Harmony. She almost thinks there's no hope but what happens when the new family comes to town? Will she ever be happy? What if Bella and her siblings became happy and then someone came back to haunt them…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All characters and other twilight-related things belong to SM. I only own the storyline._

* * *

**Edward Cullen POV**

**After visiting Bella my dead heart felt like beating. She had looked so fragile lying in that bed and Carlisle's thoughts were not good at all.**

**I hated concrete steps now and hated the snow and ice more. It had hurt my Bella….**

**Hang on; MY Bella? Since when was she MY Bella?**

**Alice hopped up onto the stool next to me. "Because you love her." She murmured, tracing the patterns on the kitchen island.**

**I stared at her. "That's ridiculous" **

**She shook her head and started to explain to me the 'First Signs of Love.' After I knew 5 of them Rosalie came and joined in and I couldn't take it any more.**

**No. 1 – it was way to girly and….**

**No. 2 – they were all true….**

**I was in love with Bella, as they put it but I had to shake it off, I couldn't be; she was human, innocent and fragile. I was a monster, deadly and strong…**

**It just wasn't right!**

******xxxxxxx******

**The next day I trailed my way into Alice's bedroom and purposely left a trail of mud behind me so it was smudged into her pink designer carpet that she had spent more money on than her bed!**

**I sat down loudly on the bed to make myself known.**

**Like planned she came marching into the room with piles and piles of neatly folded Gucci designer clothes. **

**She smoothed out a pair of dark straight cut jeans and then an EMPORIO ARMANI Men's Body Fitted Sweater.**

"**Put those on; your going to look dashing!" she trilled and clapped her hands together. She looked over at the mess on her carpet and frowned deeply. "Later." She threatened.**

**I grumbled something unintelligible and scooped the clothes up into my arms. "It's only school, did you really have to buy me a sweater and jeans that cost nearly $500 together?"**

"**Of course!" Alice looked offended by my rhetorical question so I quickly headed out of the room before she could lob some shoe at me or something like that.**

**I quickly got changed; clearly not that happy with what I had to wear. Did we really have to make all of the other kids so jealous?**

**The thoughts running through those kids minds yesterday were full of jealousy and admiration. Did she want to draw attention to us anymore? Man!**

**As I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen Esme greeted me with her warm smile and her motherly posture.**

"**Morning, Edward." She said as she cleaned dishes that didn't need cleaning. I guess it was just something for her to do.**

"**Morning, Mom." I said as I turned so my back was to her. I could imagine the smile and the light in her eyes at those 2 words. I turned a fraction and saw exactly what I thought. Her thoughts went crazy as she thought in her own little world.**

**I grabbed my books from the island and went over to her. I lowered myself down a tiny bit and kissed my mother's forehead. "See you later, I'm going to be home a little late; I'm going to be visiting Bella again, I hope you don't mind."**

**She shook her head as she hugged me back. "You go see that girl as long as you like; she deserves it."**

**When I was halfway out of the doorway she called out to me. "Oh and Edward!"**

**I turned.**

"**When she's well enough please invite her over; I'd love to meet her!" She giggled like bells before turning to carry on her business.**

**I met Emmett in the hallway and he gladly accepted my invite for me to drive him to school. I also noted and informed him that that meant he would have to see Bella because he wouldn't get home unless he went with the others which he didn't want to do. Don't ask me why.**

**He didn't seem bothered about going to hospital with me.**

**Rosalie, Alice and Jasper went in Alice's Porsche. Alice drove fast down the driveway out of our home. We drove through the lanes fast before reaching the busy part of Forks. As we drove past the Carver Café (AKA the Diner) we saw a police cruiser in the parking lot. Charlie Swan was leaning against the door looking calm and happy. I was surprised to seem him smiling. He was laughing with a young girl who had one of the café's aprons on.**

**I had a tense feeling in my stomach and a strange load of thoughts that screamed that something wasn't right.**

**When we pulled into the school parking lot it was still early so not many students were there. A few cars were on the far end of the lot and about 3 where we pulled up.**

**Maxi was leaning against the wall of the school out of anyone's way with his arms wrapped secularly around his legs. He was breathing deeply through his nose and he didn't look good at all. Harmony was perched on the grass opposite him with a cut along her right eyebrow. Her skin was pale and she was crying.**

**Rosalie noticed the sudden sadness in the child's eyes and lurched forward towards Maxi and Harmony. We all watched from our cars as she bent down and started to ask what happened.**

**She got nothing and so we all approached them.**

**Maxi tried to get his breathing under control desperately but struggled to succeed whilst Harmony gladly accepted the invitation of Rosalie's cold, stone arms.**

"**What's wrong? Is Bella okay?" the words just rolled out of my mouth. I was asking about Bella when clearly her brother was trembling.**

"**She's fine….at least I think." He muttered the last part to himself and I had that feeling that told you they meant something more.**

**Most of the tension from my body began to dissolve at his reassurance.**

"**Then what's wrong?" Emmett asked as he leaned against the wall.**

"**Nothing." Maxi sniffled and pulled himself up. He winced in pain as his left leg began to give out. He pulled himself up by grabbing onto the metal railing beside him.**

"**You're hurt." Alice stated; a small frown over taking her calm face.**

"**It's fine," Maxi said with a shrug that caused him to wince again. "Harmony and I were messing around last night with the Christmas stuff. I guess we had too much fun." He grinned.**

"**I think so; she's shattered." Rosalie murmured from the closure of Harmony's hair.**

**Proving Rosalie's comment Harmony stretched out her little body and snuggled into Rosalie's shirt; falling into a dream.**

**Maxi dragged his feet up the steps beside him with loud, deep breaths. He closed his eyes for a second and then opened them; wincing in pain. How on earth could Charlie send the both of them here like this? Why didn't he look after Harmony anyway?**

**I moved to support Maxi's frame as he nearly fell sideward's. "Okay you defiantly shouldn't be in school, our dads home; you can go and see him; we can call him."**

**Maxi's head shot up in alarm and he tried to get out of my grasp. I let him. "No, no that's not necessary, we're just fine." he turned to look at Rosalie. "Can I have Harmony back now?"**

**She just stared at him and nodded. His face relaxed but then tensed after the words that came next. "Only if you go see our dad."**

**Maxi took a step back; bringing himself between us and the wall. "I…I can't…"**

"**Why not?" Rosalie pressed, cradling Harmony against her chest.**

"**Because I just can't. My legs just fine." The bell then rang loudly and Maxi – who thought he could get away – limped towards Rosalie trying to grab his sister.**

**She didn't let him; instead she stepped around my back and out my other side so she was 14 inches away from him. **

**Harmony woke up and with a squeak she was fighting to remove herself from Rosalie's arms. "Max-I!" She wined his name in complete fear.**

**Rosalie – who was staring at the girl with a blank face – rocked Harmony back and forth.**

**Maxi stumbled forwards and bashed his head against the railing so hard that it vibrated. Just before he was a few inches away from the floor Emmett caught him; lifting him up into his arms because he'd lost consciousness. Just great.**

**Before the Principal could come out and scream at us to get to class we all got into our cars. Emmett put Maxi across the back seat and Rosalie got in next to me with the child in her arms.**

* * *

Edward's POV :)

I've been so busy since we're now caring for a terminally ill child but I hope you like this one.

_REVIEW FOR MORE! PLEASE WITH EDWARD CULLEN ON TOP!_

_What do you think? _

_I have great plans for this story! So please review! :)_

_Savannah_

_xxxx_


	9. Harmony's Personality

_Chambers of the Soul_

_Summary: Bella lives with her abusive father; Charlie, her older brother; Maxi and her younger sister; Harmony. She almost thinks there's no hope but what happens when the new family comes to town? Will she ever be happy? What if Bella and her siblings became happy and then someone came back to haunt them…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All characters and other twilight-related things belong to SM. I only own the storyline._

* * *

**Edward Cullen POV**

**Not long after we left the parking lot were we arriving at the house. From Esme and Carlisle's sudden shock of us not being in school they were waiting on the porch with angry but concerned expressions.**

**Once Rosalie was out of the car Esme's face lit up and Carlisle's face passed between a look of shock as he immediately recognized Harmony. **

**I got out of the car myself since I was the last sibling left and lifted Maxi into my arms. Fortunately his head wasn't bleeding and hopefully he was just unconscious. **

"**What happened?" Carlisle asked; immediately transforming into doctor mode. **

"**Well when we got to school he was sat on the grass upset with Harmony pale as a sheet beside him. He said he was fine but when he pulled himself up he was limping. We said you could check him over but he disagreed and tried to get Harmony back. Rosalie decided to give him Harmony if he came to see you. Harmony woke up from sleeping and called out to him just before he stumbled and bashed his head against a railing pretty hard." I quickly told him the brief story.**

**He nodded and removed Maxi from my arms; running him up to his office to treat him.**

**Harmony pushed against Rosalie as tears spilled over her eyes. "Please," she began. "You're hurting me! Please, my chest hurts…"**

**Rosalie stared at the little girl before lowering her to the ground. Once her feet touched the gravel she was running up the porch steps probably in search of her brother.**

**I ran after her with Rosalie close behind me. She was running up the stairs and tripped on a few before she ran faster. She grasped the last step and pulled herself up onto the landing and then faced 6 doors. She lifted up her finger lightly and began doing that little 'eenie meenie' thing that kids do and then chose the 4****th**** door which happened to be Carlisle's office.**

**She barged through the door with Rosalie and I right behind her. She stood a few paces away from Carlisle who was treating Maxi with her hands on her hip. "What on earth do you think your doing?" she questioned.**

"**Treating your brother." Carlisle smiled as he slid an injection into Maxi's bruised arm.**

**Harmony's charade faltered for a second before she took a step forward. "Move away from him."**

**Carlisle stared at her in amazement. **_Where did she get this behaviour?_

**I shrugged; I was as amazed as Carlisle on this one.**

**Harmony gritted her teeth. "I said MOVE away!"**

**Once Carlisle was satisfied that Maxi wasn't going to start getting sick he stepped away and Harmony moved to Maxi's side, taking hold of his arm and pulling the sleeve right over his hand. "You aren't even supposed to see that." She glared but then her eyes softened as she stared back down at Maxi. She rested her small hand on his cheek and leaned forward. **_**"Il est correct. Vous pouvez se réveiller maintenant."**_(A/N Sorry, my French is quite bad, is this right? If not will you please correct me? It's supposed to say: "It's okay. You can wake up now.") **How on earth did she learn French? She was only 5. **_**"Maxi; Réveillez-vous…" **_**She spoke urgently again. **(Again, sorry if this is wrong, supposed to be "Maxi; Wake up…")

**Rosalie stepped towards Harmony with her arms wide open. Harmony refused at first with tears dripping from her eyes because she was unable to wake up her brother who was sedated for the time being but after a little observant of Rosalie she ran into the embrace and I followed them out of the room as Carlisle got back to work.**

**When we reached the front room Rosalie took a seat on the couch next to Emmett with Harmony in her arms. She was staring at the child lovingly.**

**Harmony was looking worried and I tried desperately to get into her mind. All I picked up was blackness and a buzzing.**

**Not being able to find what was wrong I voiced my thoughts. "What's wrong?" I asked her.**

**Suddenly she whipped her head around in my direction and the worry dripped from her face. "Nothing! I was just wondering the time." She said innocently.**

"**11:30am" I answered automatically. "The school knows we came home, my mom phoned them."**

**Her worry didn't completely disappear. She turned to Rosalie. "May I use your phone, miss?" She spoke softly as if she'd get a row for asking something.**

"**Of course!" Rosalie said happily, digging her cell from her pocket, in doing so she passed Harmony over to Emmett who was completely fascinated by the small frame positioned on his lap. Rosalie passed the phone over to Harmony and she took it in her small fingers; dialling a number. Eventually she placed it to her ear and sighed loudly. "Hello sir." She spoke softly.**

**Charlie Swan's voice came over from the other end. "Harmony," he spat. "What are you doing? Whose phone is this?"**

"**A girl's sir, I was just phoning to check on you…" She trailed off, fear in her brown eyes.**

**Charlie huffed. "I do not need checking up on and you should be in school and not on some girl's phone. Get back to your brother now."**

"**I can't." She whispered.**

"**Why not?" He demanded with anger in his voice. Why was he so horrible to her? She was only a little girl…**

"**He had an accident in school today and this nice family helped us out and now we're at their house and their treating him for us so he doesn't have to go to hospital…" She smiled up at me and I smiled back, only a little.**

**I quickly took the phone and informed Charlie on Maxi's condition and that my father was a doctor and he was being well cared for. That didn't go down so well and Charlie was on his way.**

**What was wrong with this family?**

**It was bad enough that fragile Bella was in hospital…**

**Moments later Carlisle came down the stairs with a solemn expression. Maxi was shortly behind him. He didn't look good; his face was pale and he was sweating.**

**Harmony gasped in happiness and ran over to her brother before he could get down the stairs. "Maxi! You came back!" She yelled in joy, wrestling her head against his stomach.**

"**I didn't go anywhere…" His voice was thick and broke. He lifted her into his arms though and carried her over to us.**

**She leaned down into his ear. "You fell; didn't you hear me asking you to wake up? You fell; just like Bella. Is she going to be okay? Charlie is coming, he won't do anything right?" She whispered. It wasn't even intended for us to hear. What was she on about? Why would Bella be in anymore danger? She was safe in the hospital wasn't she?**

**I suddenly felt a pang of worry and grabbed my car keys. "I'm sorry, I have to go." I slid on my jacket. "I'm going to check up on Bella, I need this." I muttered to low for any human ears and then rushed out to my car.**

* * *

I've been so busy since we're now caring for a terminally ill child but I hope you like this one. I've also been having really bad family problems this week which were caused by myself...my little sister is having heart surgery today also shes 13.

Thank you so much God for bringing Miley home safe and sound for us...

_REVIEW FOR MORE! PLEASE WITH EDWARD CULLEN ON TOP!_

_What do you think? _

_I have great plans for this story! So please review! :)_

_Savannah_

_xxxx_


	10. Race Against Time

_Chambers of the__ Soul_

_Summary: Bella lives with her abusive father; Charlie, her older brother; Maxi and her younger sister; Harmony. She almost thinks there's no hope but what happens when the new family comes to town? Will she ever be happy? What if Bella and her siblings became happy and then someone came back to haunt them…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All characters and other twilight-related things belong to SM. I only own the storyline._

* * *

**Edward Cullen POV**

**When I arrived to the hospital I sprinted to reception. I felt like something bad was going to happen. I waited restlessly for the receptionist to look up. "Please state your name." she smiled.**

"**Edward Cullen. Carlisle Cullen's son."**

**She nodded in understanding and scrolled through the computer system. "Who are you seeing today?"**

"**Isabella Marie Swan." I gave her Bella's full name and felt my knees grow weak as her faced showed sadness.**

"**She was moved to Intensive Care this morning after her heart has been giving her problems, sir. If you take the left corridor and take the elevator to the 2****nd**** floor just ask the receptionist there to give you her room number." She smiled softly at me and I ran up the corridor, took the left turn and jumped into the crowded elevator seeing that 2****nd**** floor had already been pressed.**

**When I got to the floor I rushed passed the waiting rooms and approached the desk. "Isabella Swan." I said; not really bothered if I was being rude.**

**The receptionist smiled and gave me Bella's room number. I passed each room slowly, being extra observant of the numbers and then found her room; 15. I pushed open the door and stepped inside quietly.**

**There was silence except for the hissing and beeping of monitors. I avoided the bed until the very last sweep of the room and my eyes landed on her pale face.**

**Her face was pale and sweaty and a ventilator was assisting her breathing. An IV was going into her left hand and there was various monitors attached to her stomach, chest and forehead. **

"**Bella" I whispered as I took a few steps towards her and sat down in the chair next to her bed. I slid my hand in hers and squeezed it tightly. "I'm here sweety. I'm here now." I whispered, not entirely sure she could actually hear my voice being carried through the small room from the state she was in but I heard it was more comforting for the patient if you talked to them when they were unconscious. **

**I ran my fingers lightly over her cold ones and stared at her face for half an hour before a nurse in teddy bear scrubs came in to check on Bella's breathing tube. "Oh, hello dear." She smiled kindly at me and I was surprised to see she wasn't thinking that I was hot or something along those lines. Wow.**

"**Hello. May you tell me what happened for Bella to be brought here?" I asked politely.**

**The nurse smiled. "Of course. Miss. Swan is severely underweight and a feeding tube will have to be inserted when she awakes instead of the IV. Fortunately Dr. Snow was able to find her before her heart failed. She was malnourished despite the food and drink she has been getting here and refusing. She was starving. ****Starving causes the body to turn to anything available as building blocks. Muscle and other tissue are broken down to use as energy since body fat does not provide for all of your****nutritional**** needs. As a result you end up loosing critical muscle mass, such as heart, diaphragm and other critical tissue as your body attempts to provide for basic needs."**

**I gulped loudly and took an unnecessary deep breath. "So you mean she might have like…an eating disorder?"**

**She nodded sadly and then left the room to give me time to think.**

"**Oh Bella." I whispered, reaching up to trace her jaw.**

**How could she have been starving herself? Did she know that she was starving herself? Hadn't Charlie noticed? Her brother? She could've died. She still **_**could **_**die. She was so thin, so weak and vulnerable; how hadn't I noticed before? But then it came to me. Rosalie **_**had **_**noticed and I'd questioned Carlisle but otherwise we had ignored it. We had put Bella's life in danger because we failed to react when we had the chance. If she hadn't fell down those steps would her heart still be like this now? **

**I pulled my silver cell from my pocket and I called the family home. Carlisle picked up and informed me Charlie had dragged both Maxi and Harmony home before he could stop them but I wasn't worried about that right now. "Carlisle put the phone on speaker." I murmured and when he complied I took a deep breath and continued. **

**"Bella's heart weakened this morning and she's now in Intensive Care. She's on a ventilator and everything and the nurse just said that if Dr. Snow hadn't of found her she could've died or had a heart attack. She was starving herself. Her hearts too weak because she's not feeding herself. She probably has an eating disorder. I cannot believe we were so blind, Rosalie had noticed but yet we failed to react to it and now Bella's in danger. How didn't Charlie notice? What about Maxi?" I ranted on.**

**Carlisle cut me off from saying anymore. "We'll be right there but Edward I have a feeling this isn't just an eating disorder, this has to do with Charlie."**

**Before I could ask what he was on about he hung up the phone.**

**Half an hour later Carlisle and the family arrived and Alice's jaw dropped at the sight of Bella. I didn't turn my head from Bella's face but I could see their reactions from other family member's thoughts. They were all shocked. Carlisle was the only one who was able to compose him self and so he pulled a chair and sat down beside me; placing a hand on my shoulder. He had noticed my attachment to this human.**

**Eventually everyone else was able to sit down and remain quiet and let Carlisle speak. He flung himself right into his thoughts easily. "When I first saw Bella, Maxi was carrying her by the reception desk of the ER with Harmony by his side. At first he wouldn't let me examine her until he finally gave in and did. Bella wasn't in a very good state at that point and we had to call in more doctors and nurses to help. **

**About 2 hours later we were able to stabilize her and inform Maxi on her condition. He told me she fell down the steps and I pretended I believed him even though he really wasn't that convincible. Harmony was scared of anything or anyone that passed her and he said it was because she hardly ever socialized though I knew it was something more. When I was on duty looking after Bella as she was in the hospital Charlie never checked up on her until I called him and informed him about the chest tube to drain the fluid from Bella's chest and he didn't seem too happy that I had pulled him from his job. **

**When he got there he saw Bella and said that she was fine and that he'd visit again later. He wasn't very concerned at all. And then checking Maxi over at the house earlier he has a lot of old and new bruises exactly like Bella's with many being hand marks and I'm certain Harmony will have the same if I ever got to check her over."**

"**What are you trying to say?" Emmett asked quietly because he really didn't want to piece all the pieces together.**

**Carlisle sighed. "That this could be an abuse case. I've called and informed child services and they agree with me. They said they could get here by tomorrow morning"**

**Looking at Bella reality sunk in. Bella could or was an abuse victim. Her, Maxi and Harmony…sweet little Harmony. Charlie was a sick, sick man.**

**Rosalie was traumatized along with Alice and Esme. "You let him take them home…" She looked over at Carlisle slowly.**

**He nodded. "I know but if I had just blurted it out he would've done a runner and without revealing our secret we wouldn't have been able to stop him."**

"**He has them right now" She whispered and got up. "I need to call Maxi."**

"**You got his number?" I asked in surprise and she nodded; retrieving the hospital cell from Carlisle's hand. She dialed a number and then waited for someone to answer.**

**Maxi's labored breathing came through the receiver. "Hello?" He coughed heavily and I heard Harmony cry in the background.**

"**You need to come to the Intensive Care Unit for Bella right now." Rosalie began. "You and Harmony. We have an idea what's going on Maxi." She said seriously.**

**Maxi's breathing got heavier and then eventually they seemed further away and then a thud came through again. There was softer breathing now and the phone being picked up again since it had been dropped. "It's Harmony." She said in a whisper.**

"**Where are you sweety?" Rosalie whispered back.**

"**A bathroom. It's not daddy's bathroom." Harmony whispered in fear. "Daddy gone crazy again." She cried.**

"**Where's Maxi? Can you get Maxi?" Rosalie asked frantically.**

**Harmony took a deep breath. "Maxi unable too." She sighed. "Come find me….please!" She screamed and a loud thud broke out before the phone went dead.**

**We all looked at each other; Maxi and Harmony were in danger.**

* * *

Well…things have been hectic…so sorry for the late update…my sis died…and i miss her so so much...she was only 14...

_REVIEW FOR MORE! PLEASE WITH EDWARD CULLEN ON TOP!_

_What do you think? _

_I have great plans for this story! So please review! :)_

_Savannah_

_xxxx_


	11. God Please No!

_Chambers of the__ Soul_

_Summary: Bella lives with her abusive father; Charlie, her older brother; Maxi and her younger sister; Harmony. She almost thinks there's no hope but what happens when the new family comes to town? Will she ever be happy? What if Bella and her siblings became happy and then someone came back to haunt them…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All characters and other twilight-related things belong to SM. I only own the storyline._

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Maxi Swan POV

Charlie quickly buckled Harmony into the backseat because the Cullen's were watching from the driveway. Normally he wouldn't have even put a safety belt on her and if I tried to put it on her or ask her too I'd get hit but today wasn't the case; he had to keep up his 'perfect parent' charade. I got into the front seat and buckled my seat belt on too.

Charlie got into the car and sped out of the driveway. When we got out of the forest and onto the main road he grumbled under his breath. "Take your safety belts off."

Reaching to my right I slowly un-clipped the belt and saw Harmony sitting stiffly in the back without moving.

"HARMONY!" He yelled as he took a left turn to somewhere that wasn't the house.

Harmony started to cry and unbuckled her safety belt, dragging her legs to her chest.

We took another corner and then Charlie was bouncing the car across a bumpy, muddy field. What on earth was he doing? Was he finally going to kill us? I couldn't die without Bella…but I knew the Cullen's would keep her safe…I knew.

He parked the car next to a small building and got out of the car. He slammed the door hard and went around to the trunk. I quickly climbed out and took Harmony into my arms. She was crying and shaking.

He closed the trunk and had a huge box in his hand and a towel…a towel? What the….

He came towards me and pushed me towards the building. "Get inside right now; this place is abandoned so no one will find you. Get in. NOW!" he smacked Harmony across the face and kicked me in the back of the leg before I hurried into the building.

This was it. This was going to be our death.

When we got inside I realized he had been telling the truth. The place was dark and abandoned and tables were upturned with a bar in the far corner. This used to be a hang about of some sort and then I remembered the field. This is where the football matches used to take place until they build a better one on the other side of Forks.

I quickly hid Harmony under a table that wasn't upturned and turned to face Charlie who was coming inside the door. He smiled evilly and cocked his head to the side. "Scared boy?" he asked.

"No." I said; trying to sound strong. It failed.

He laughed and flung his huge frame at me, pinning my arms to the ground. "Don't" A bash to the head. "You" a slap across the face. "Ever" a punch to the stomach. "Go" a kick in the stomach. "To" a bite to my left arm. "Someone's" a slam to the head again. "House" a spit in the face. "AGAIN!" a full force attack of his whole body on top of mine. "Do you hear me?" he screeched.

I nodded. His huge frame was crushing my stomach and I was finding it hard to breathe. Fortunately he got up and I was able to breathe again but he had found Harmony and he was striding towards her and I was too weak to do anything about it. He pulled her from under the table by her hair and started to lead her off to another room.

I pulled myself up onto my hands and knees and crawled myself into what looked like a restroom. I collapsed against the tiled floor and wondered what the hell he was doing. He kicked me in the stomach so he could drag Harmony past me and I felt something vibrate in my pocket. My cell! Slowly I slid it out and answered.

Charlie was too occupied with going through his big box so I decided to speak. It was Rosalie.  
"Hello?" I coughed heavily and Harmony cried out from behind me as Charlie took off her shoes and jeans. What was he doing?

"You need to come to the Intensive Care Unit for Bella right now." Rosalie began. "You and Harmony. We have an idea what's going on Maxi." She said seriously.

What? They knew? Or they had an idea? Everything was too cloudy! I didn't have chance to answer because Charlie was dragging me back and thankfully he didn't see the cell.

Harmony – who had picked up on my silent communication – pretended to push herself into the wall and then she pressed the phone to her ear.

"It's Harmony." She said in a whisper.

"Where are you sweety?" Rosalie's voice whispered back through the receiver.

"A bathroom. It's not daddy's bathroom." Harmony whispered in fear. "Daddy gone crazy again." She cried.

"Where's Maxi? Can you get Maxi?" Rosalie asked frantically.

Harmony took a deep breath. "Maxi unable too." She sighed. "Come find me….please!" She screamed as Charlie picked her up by the legs and swung her around, causing her to hit her head on one of the pipes.

I breathed heavily as I tried to get air into my lungs. Charlie pushed Harmony down opposite me and pulled off her knickers. Was he going to rape her? He was sick! If he dare touch her! He moved up to her top and pulled it off, leaving her completely naked in the cold room. He slid his huge arms under her armpits and yanked her up like a rag doll; her head was bleeding heavily by this point. He walked towards the water-filled basin attached to the wall and I screamed because I realized what he was doing.

He was sick! Harmony didn't deserve this! I couldn't let her die, I couldn't. I dragged myself across the floor towards them but they were too far away.

Charlie sat himself down on a stool that was in the room and held Harmony so she was standing on his lap. At this moment she was completely unstable and clinging to his t-shirt for support. She was shivering from head to toe and he dipped his fingers in the water, brushing them over her back. "There's no need to be scared." He grinned that one sided grin. "I'm your daddy!" Before she could respond he had grabbed her with his left hand on her waist and the other on the back of her neck. He positioned her in front of the basin.

"Don't!" I screamed my voice breaking.

He looked towards me for a second and as he did so he pushed Harmony's head under the steaming hot water. He turned back to her and pushed down harder as her limp hands began to try and push herself back out for air. It wasn't working and she was so weak. I was too weak to help her. I was just doing nothing…Harmony…

He finally pulled her up for air and her face was bright red and she was gasping for breath. "Stop!" she managed to get out before her head was dunked under again. Her blood merged in with the water.

I forced myself up and clung to the wall. I tried to step forward but found myself too weak too. Harmony was drowning and I couldn't do anything!

I fell back to the floor with a thump at the same time Harmony's small head was plunged under the water again. This time there was only a fight for about 5 seconds. Harmony had gone limp.

God please no! _NOOOO! _She had to be alive. She had to be!

Charlie smiled as he pulled her out of the water for the last time. He wrapped her in her cream teddy bear towel and dropped her to the floor and got up from the stool, making his way towards me.

"That was for mixing with other people and for taking Bella to hospital." He growled. He managed to get in a few punches before I pretended to go limp and close my eyes. If he thought I was unconscious and on the brink of dying maybe he would leave. Eventually he did and when I heard the door close from the other room I slowly opened my eyes and took in my little sister's form. She was wrapped up in the towel and her face was pale. From what I could see her chest wasn't even moving.

From the image in front of my face I found the strength to crawl to her. I supported her cold form in mine for a few seconds before laying the towel flat across the marble floor and laying her body – uncovered – on top of it. I placed my hands on top of her chest and pushed down, continuing it for a few minutes before deciding to breathe into her mouth. Her lips were blue but I wasn't going to give up on this little form of life that brought joy to too many people. Eventually a small pulse began in Harmony's body. Her skin was still pale and her eyes didn't open but she was alive and she was breathing, but it was only faint. I quickly wrapped her up into the towel and held her close to my chest. "You're going to be okay, everything's going to be okay." I started to sing one of her favorite songs to her until I heard the door to the first part of the building bang open. I stopped breathing and stiffened, clutching Harmony to me.

"MAXI! HARMONY!" Rosalie's voice called out and I relaxed, breathing again. I didn't have the strength to answer but she found us anyway. She gasped at the sight of us both and knelt down beside us. "Is she okay?"

"Drowned." I choked out. They knew anyway. They knew. We were going to be okay; they knew!

She looked over to the still full sink and her eyes widened. "Carlisle!" she called and then Dr. Cullen was coming into the room. He didn't come near to me at first. He stood in the doorway as my wide eyes stared. He slowly approached me; his steps not even making a sound on the floor. He held up his hands to show he wasn't a threat. "I'm not going to hurt you," He spoke softly. " I just want to help."

I looked down at Harmony. I was still in shock that she had stopped breathing and that people knew about Charlie and that they believed us. Looking at her I knew she needed his help so with all of my strength I pushed her out towards him.

He removed her from my arms without making contact with me to which I was grateful; I didn't want to be touched right now; I couldn't be touched.

I pushed myself as far back as I could and ignored the pain that stabbed at every part of my body. I wanted to scream when EMT's came pushing into the room and exited the room with Harmony in there huge arms but I couldn't; I wanted too but I couldn't.

Rosalie got up seconds later and went to follow after them so it was just Carlisle and I in the room. I knew I looked like a scared little boy right now but I didn't care; everything was a threat to me right now. I wanted to flea from the room but I stayed cowering against the wall.

"Maxi," Carlisle soothed softly. "I'm not going to hurt you; I'm going to make you feel better. We know what's going on and we're prepared to help you. Charlie's not going to get you again." He said, taking a few more steps towards me. When he was inches away he bent down and I started hyperventilating. He took me through calming, deep breaths. "Take it easy; I'm not going to hurt you." He kept repeating.

Finally I calmed down, letting him touch me on the leg. "That's it, son." He encouraged.

I stared blankly ahead as he pulled 2 blankets from his bag that I didn't even though he had. He was about to throw them over me when I backed away to the wall as far as possible. "No!" I whimpered. All I could see was Charlie wrapping Harmony in her favorite towel.

Carlisle froze in his actions. "I just need to keep you warm Maxi until we get you too the hospital okay? Their sending some more EMT's now because the others took Harmony. Will you take your shoes off for me?"

I stared at him in confusion before shakily sliding my shoes from my feet.

He smiled reassuringly. "And loosen your belt and button on your jeans for me, son." He soothed.

WHAT! Was he some kind of psycho! He was going to rape me too! Just like Charlie who had done it to me and Bella before…I began to shake and he picked up on my terror.

"I'm not going to do anything," He began. "You've gone into shock from this trauma. I need to keep you warm and dehydrated until we get to the hospital. I'm just doing my job to make you feel a little better."

I let him wrap the blankets around me this time and Esme came into the small room with a cup of something. Carlisle removed it from her and then I was gently being pulled to her chest. I shook with fear before relaxing at her soft touch on my stomach.

Carlisle was in front of me now with the cup in his hand. He dipped his finger down into the cup and then pressed it too my lips. I swallowed the hot and vile substance quickly before turning away. He put the cup down after I refused to drink anymore. He then reached down into his bag and pulled out an oxygen mask. He slipped it over my nose and mouth and I found it hard to breathe for a few seconds before my breathing finally became okay again.

After a few moments in silence I felt Esme lowering me to the floor like she'd had some conversation with Carlisle. She then proceeded to lift my legs about 30cm's into the air. It hurt because my muscles were weak and stiff.

I felt Carlisle move to above my head and then he was turning my head to the side so I was staring at the wall beside me. His cold hands were then on my throat and my mouth was being pulled open; the mask was now gone. He got out his little white light and shone it down my throat, checking my airways. He followed it by checking my circulation. He did it every 10 minutes or so before the EMT's finally arrived.

I was too sleepy and run down to even bother listening to what they were saying as I was loaded onto a gurney. I could feel Carlisle pressing the oxygen mask to my face and Esme holding my hand before I felt the darkness inviting me in. I gladly accepted his invite.

* * *

Ahhh! What do you think? I had a lot of fun writing this chapter! :)

_REVIEW FOR MORE! PLEASE WITH EDWARD CULLEN ON TOP!_

_What do you think? _

_I have great plans for this story! So please review! :)_

_Savannah_

_xxxx_


	12. Taking Care Of Bella

_Chambers of the Soul_

_Summary: Bella lives with her abusive father; Charlie, her older brother; Maxi and her younger sister; Harmony. She almost thinks there's no hope but what happens when the new family comes to town? Will she ever be happy? What if Bella and her siblings became happy and then someone came back to haunt them…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All characters and other twilight-related things belong to SM. I only own the storyline._

* * *

Esme's POV

I held onto Maxi's limp hand as the sirens of the ambulance we were occupying wailed around us. Carlisle was treating him as best as he could with the other EMT's. Unfortunately Maxi wasn't only physically hurt; he was in shock too, but after this he would probably need therapy. All of them would need therapy.

We didn't even know how long these poor souls had been abused by their father. We didn't know where their mother was and we didn't know exactly what they'd been through.

All 3 of the siblings would be in the hospital at the same time now which was heartbreaking for any family, especially our family who had grown close to these humans.

I wasn't just going to abandon them and I wasn't going to let child services take them away from us. Of course I didn't tell Carlisle this; he would agree with child services and God knows where these kids would end up.

As soon as Harmony had told us they were in some restroom we thought of places throughout town that had restrooms. Unfortunately most places did. Luckily Jasper realized Charlie wouldn't do anything in a public place so we narrowed our options down to 4 buildings: the abandoned school, the warehouses, the football field and the old burnt out gas station. Fortunately the field was the 2nd place we checked and they were found just in time.

I couldn't believe that Charlie had drowned his own 5 year old daughter. Maxi had had to do CPR on her tiny body to bring her back and as soon as she was in the ambulance her heart failed again.

Rosalie quickly assured me over the phone that when they arrived at the hospital Harmony was breathing and being taken to the ICU.

Jasper, Emmett and Edward were following in the car behind us and Alice and Rosalie were at the hospital with Harmony. Once we got there Carlisle and I would be staying with Maxi, Alice and Rosalie would be staying with Harmony and Emmett, Edward and Jasper would be staying with Bella so all of the siblings could have someone with them all of the time.

When we pulled up at the hospital doctors and nurses came rushing out and began to take Maxi inside. They had been waiting. Unfortunately I wasn't able to go into the room as they settled him and awoke him from his unconscious state.

Carlisle promised to take care of him so I settled into a chair in the waiting room.

All the kids came in at that time and sat down.

"How's Harmony?" I asked quietly.

Rosalie shook her head sadly. "They had to restart her heart twice, she's in CCU with machines everywhere…"

I gasped quietly. That poor little girl…What did she do to deserve this?

Edward silently held my hand as we waited quietly in the waiting room with a tense and uncomfortable silence.

2 days later

Bella Swan POV

There was a massive lump in my throat and it was pushing against my skin. It was hurting really bad but when I lifted a hand to try and grab it, it was tugged back down by something. I felt movement by the side of me and a gasp as soon as I attempted to move.

"Bella?" I knew that voice. "Bella can you hear me? This is Edward. Can you open your eyes?"

I tried. I really did. I pushed with all my strength to open my eyes but they wouldn't budge, it was like something was stopping them.

Edward realized this and I heard someone move from the other side of me. How many people were in my room? Or wherever I was. "Okay, um…can you squeeze my hand?" he asked and I suddenly felt a cold hand wrap around mine.

I pushed with all my strength and I felt a little twitch run down to the tips of my fingers. I did it!

"Rock on Bella!" I heard a loud, booming voice yell.

I jumped just by hearing it! I knew who it was though: Emmett.

My thoughts were confirmed when Edward spoke up. "Emmett, gosh, why do you have to be so loud? You pulled the tubes."

Tubes? _Tubes? _Oh my god! I was in hospital! Damn!

"Oh right, sorry, I'll go get dad." Emmett was much quieter now. A chair was gently scraped back and then a door opened and shut. I guess it was Emmett leaving.

"It's alright Bella, I know what happened to you and you're going to be okay now." Edward whispered from the side of me, still holding my hand.

I couldn't take in what he had just said. He knew; he _knew _what Charlie had done.

Then the door opened again and I heard footsteps. And then I felt a tug on my hand. "Bella? Can you hear me?" a velvet voice asked. "Can you show me a sign that you can?" This sounded like Dr. Cullen.

I tried to squeeze down on Edward's hand again but it was like my body was locked. Just as one of my fingers moved a burn went through my whole body.

I felt like I was on fire.

My body tensed up in a way that I thought it couldn't in my state and I heard the monitors around me go crazy.

My whole body finally relaxed and then Mr. Darkness was stood in front of me, inviting me to his castle.

I took his invitation that night.

When I awoke the next time, I heard voices.

I could make out Dr. Cullen's voice. I had just caught the end of one of his sentences. "-which doesn't mean anything. Just because she squeezed your hand and then she was unresponsive, doesn't mean that she isn't okay. At first it's hard for the patient to stay awake. Stop worrying Edward."

There was a loud sigh from the side of me and then someone's hair was gently brushed across my hand. I knew that hair. By its spiky feel of messiness it was Edward's. I had never touched his hair before, but it was defiantly his hair.

I decided at that time that I needed to show I was awake. I couldn't stand the silence. I tried to move the hand that he was resting against, but it didn't move. I pushed all my focus into it and then I felt my fingers shift. They didn't suddenly stop moving, they kept going.

Edward's hair was gone and then one of his hands were wrapping around mine.

"Bella?" he whispered.

This time I put everything into opening my eyes. I really did. I pushed and squeezed Edward's hand and then I saw white.

I seemed to blink because everything suddenly became clearer. I had managed to open my eyes! Though the downer was, I was defiantly in a hospital room.

Dr. Cullen, Edward, Emmett and Jasper in the room with me and I felt embarrassed.

I was just led here – probably looking very stupid – whilst they all just looked at me, and I couldn't even say anything because of the stupid tube wedged down my throat!

Edward finally moved and smiled, giving me an awkward hug. Okay. Something was defiantly not right.

I didn't do anything. I simply couldn't, there were too many tubes and wires.

Dr. Cullen pursed his lips and grabbed a chair from the corner after a while. He moved the chair right in front of me - causing Edward to move his chair further away from me – and stared at me sadly.

I was starting to panic. The heart monitor speed up and Carlisle placed his hand on my shaking one; sending me some sort of comfort I guess. "Bella, can I call you Bella?" when I nodded he continued. "I don't want you to worry too much, I can assure you your siblings are in the best care possible, and so are you. 3 days ago your brother and sister were brought here in the afternoon; Maxi was badly beaten and shaken up. Unfortunately Harmony suffered much worse; her body is emotional and physically drained. She's currently in the CCU and unconscious. We know why you are all here, so don't try to deny it. I'm not here to just pass you on to Child Services, though they have been called. We want to make you as safe and comfortable as possible. Your dad drowned Harmony; she had to be brought back a number of times, and he physically and emotionally hurt Maxi that day. I know that you've suffered a lot too, and I want you to tell me – when I remove this tube – what exactly happened to bring you in here."

He wasn't demanding, his voice was soft and gentle and I felt the tears fall down my face. I wanted to see my brother; I wanted to make sure he was okay. I wanted to hold my little sister and tell her how precious she was, and apologize for not being there when she needed to be kept safe.

I didn't care if they all saw me crying. I just wanted my siblings; I needed to see them to know they were alright.

Dr. Cullen then looked over at Edward, Jasper and Emmett. "Boys, I want you to wait outside, go back to the waiting room with the girls or grab a drink or something. I want to speak to Bella alone."

Emmett and Jasper nodded and smiled at me before heading towards the door. Edward was the only one to hesitate. He gently took my hand and squeezed it before leaving.

Dr. Cullen stood and set his chair back, moving to stand beside me.

I knew exactly what he was going to do.

Having the tube removed was not the most pleasant experience. That part was in fact painful. They had to remove the mask first, which had actually been stuck to my face, so it wouldn't move or become dislodged when I slept. That part was uncomfortable to say the least. They had to remove the mask that was attached to my face without disturbing the tube that went down my throat. It wasn't as simple as it sounded. They had to cut the mask so they could remove it from where it connected to the tube. After that they had to actually remove the tube from my throat. I was absolutely scared to death when he explained this.

Somehow, one of the nurses had come into the room without me even realizing, and took my hand to reassure me as Dr. Cullen prepared to remove the tube.

When he grasped the tube and started sliding it out, I felt it moving from the bottom of my throat. I just focused hard on the soft pattern of my breathing and tried to block it all out. I really wanted him to just yank it out but I knew in doing so, it'd probably rip my throat open.

Eventually it came out and my throat was throbbing. It hurt to even breathe!

Thankfully the nurse was already holding a cup out for me with a straw and helped me take a sip. The relief I felt when the cold liquid slapped at my burning throat was Heaven! I just needed to keep sipping.

I did stop and the nurse set the drink on the side, saying I could get it whenever I wanted, and then departed.

Dr. Cullen smiled at me and pulled his chair back towards my bed, settling down into the hard plastic. "Well done Bella, I know your throat hurts extremely right now so I won't push you to say everything in detail. You just take your time." He reached over for my drink and held it in his lap. "I've got your drink if you need it."

I nodded and took an agonizing deep breath. "Tyler Crowley. He always gets to do things to me, like Charlie, he tells him too. He gets me for 2 hours whenever he wants. He beats me, rapes me, anything." I struggled to breathe for a moment from the pain but continued on. "That night, when Maxi brought me to you, Tyler had just finished with me. I couldn't breathe and just led their on the street until Maxi and Angela Webber came. She used her little brother's oxygen mask until Maxi took me inside. It was early morning when he realized I needed to go to the hospital, despite how much he got hurt after taking me."

Dr. Cullen sat there quietly before he nodded, holding the drink out to me.

My shaking hand reached out for it and I grasped it in my fingers, silently noting how black and blue they were. I managed to take a sip after my fingers settled their movements and Dr. Cullen patiently waited. "I want to see them." I whispered; it didn't hurt to whisper.

He knew immediately who I was talking about and nodded whilst smiling sadly. "Alright, I'll see what I can do; I'll just go ask one of your nurses, I'm sure they'll say yes though." He said, standing up and closing the door softly behind him.

I sat there in the lonely, small room and just stared at the white walls; not really seeing them. In my mind I saw Harmony's laughing face, the rare smile planted on her face. Her body swaying to the music I hummed to her every morning.

I felt the warm tears flowing down my face but didn't bother hiding them.

Eventually Dr. Cullen came back with a wheelchair and helped me into it – which took forever – and settled all the tubes and wires neatly in my lap after disconnecting them from the machines.

I visited Maxi first.

He was curled up on the hospital bed, looking very fragile, and sleeping gently. Mrs. Cullen was holding onto his hand and smiled at me when I entered.

I gave her a weak smile but then focused my attention on Maxi. He was bruised badly and had bandages everywhere with a cast around his leg. I smiled faintly because the cast was a light green; his favorite color.

I wanted him to be awake so I could see his eyes and talk to him but I knew he needed his sleep so I told Dr. Cullen I was ready to leave.

He wasn't surprised at this and gladly pushed me up to the CCU to see Harmony.

What I saw was not what I was expecting.

She looked like one of those premature babies in one of those open incubators, except this one was much bigger.

She was wearing only a diaper and had wires and tubes coming out of her from everywhere. Her breathing tube was much smaller than mine but was still too big for her small body. Her chest heaved in a light pattern, all down to the machines doing.

Her body was fully exposed apart from where the diaper was covering. Her skin was black and blue. She hadn't been this bad before I came into hospital.

Her fingers and toes were turning a light blue at the tips and her lips were a dark purple.

She wasn't well. She was defiantly a _very _sick little girl.

Dr. Cullen rolled me right up to the incubator and I reached out and held her small hand in mine. It was ice cold, cold enough to turn anything into ice.

I didn't like seeing her like this but I was afraid of leaving, afraid of what was going to happen if I did.

It was like she felt my presence, that she knew it was me, because the heart monitor jumped for a split second and deep down I held hope in that moment.

If she had sensed me, she was aware…

I had been so observant in her that I hadn't noticed Rosalie and Alice slightly behind me. They were staring at the two of us but giving me time to be with my sister without having to leave the room.

I didn't really focus my attention on them though; I didn't want their pity. I wanted my sister.

I truly didn't know how long it would take for her to be okay. I couldn't believe Charlie would even think about hurting such a small, innocent child in the first place.

She was the last person on the Earth to be treated this way.

I just held onto her small hand for as long as possible before Carlisle gently told me I needed my rest. And I agreed with him; I was already exhausted.

That night I didn't sleep so well. I was restless from the pain but also because of my worrying. I wanted to know and make sure my siblings would be safe. I cried myself to sleep that night but I kept waking up for some reason.

I woke up for the 100th time and sighed, looking over at the clock. 3:27am. Oh great, Dr. Cullen would be coming in to check on me soon. He did it throughout the night, always asking me each time if I needed any pain medication or sleep medicine but I kept denying; he could be saving lives with that stuff, not wasting it on me.

3 minutes later, right on cue, Dr. Cullen arrived with a small smile on his face. He was carrying some needles and a liquid. Err, great.

He settled himself into a chair by the side of me and gave my hand a comforting pat before he started to rummage around with the things in his hands.

I didn't mind Dr. Cullen; he was a really kind-hearted man who loved helping people. When he looked at me it was like I was his daughter, he was always full of a lot of love; you could literally feel it radiating off of him.

I squinted at him through my hazy vision and sighed tiredly. "Hey." I croaked.

He smiled softly. "Hello to you once again, Bella." He teased back.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing to the stuff in his hands with my gauze wrapped hand.

He followed my gaze. "It's sleep medicine."

My eyes widened slightly and I raised my eyes at him. "I don't want it."

"As a qualified doctor I say that you do." He replied.

I tore my eyes away from him and I felt my eyes bubble with tears. I couldn't go to sleep; I couldn't be plagued by those horrible memories…those evil eyes of Charlie. I couldn't.

"Bella?" Carlisle called softly with concern. I turned towards him again. "Is there something bothering you?"

"Uh…no." I stammered, my eyes trailing to the floor. I was a terrible liar.

He sighed quietly and reached for my hand. "Tell me."

The tears fell silently. "It's Charlie…he…he gets me, in my sleep…"

He pursed his lips. "You know they're just images. He isn't going to touch you again, Bella."

"We don't know that." I rubbed at my eyes.

Despite my pleas and cries, Carlisle prepared my hand for the needle. "It's for the best, Bella. It'll ware off in the morning and I promise I won't give you anymore unless you want it."

"Promise?" I had to know. No one kept promises, not with me.

"I promise." With that, he slid the mediation into the IV pump and waited until I drifted into sleep.

* * *

Awww…thank you all for being so patient with me! :) I left the internet for a little while…

_REVIEW FOR MORE! PLEASE WITH EDWARD CULLEN ON TOP!_

_What do you think? _

_I have great plans for this story! So please review! :)_

_Savannah_

_xxxx_


	13. Stay With Me!

_Chambers of the Soul_

_Summary: Bella lives with her abusive father; Charlie, her older brother; Maxi and her younger sister; Harmony. She almost thinks there's no hope but what happens when the new family comes to town? Will she ever be happy? What if Bella and her siblings became happy and then someone came back to haunt them…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All characters and other twilight-related things belong to SM. I only own the storyline._

* * *

Maxi Swan POV

The drab grey color of the hospital walls never fail to throw a bucket of cold water over my spirits. That all-too-familiar smell that hospitals have - is it from some kind of medication, or is it from all that bleach? - floats around in the air like a constant presence, never wanting to go away. I'm starting to think if I'm stuck in this room for any longer, not only will I lose my sense of smell; I might start losing my sense of humour along with it too.

It's been 3 whole weeks. 3 weeks of hospital walls, tasteless food and beeping monitors.

I rubbed at my leg gently; it was still painfully sore. The doctors said it was because I had many other previous injuries there. They also said that the police were currently searching for Charlie; he'd run.

The house was empty, kind of eerie. One of the Cullen's went back there to get some of Harmony's teddies, and they were covered in dust. Her toys had been set out across the floor – waiting patiently for her return. The majority of her toys had been bought by either Bella or myself. Charlie only ever gave her one toy and that was the one she was given at the hospital at birth. A little Roo figure from Winnie the Pooh. Harmony treasured that little Kangaroo.

He was sitting in the corner of her 'tub', as Bella and I called it. She was still in the CCU; still fighting for her little life. She was drained, both physically and emotionally and some doctors had no hope of her ever waking up. I was never going to lose hope. Why would I? She's just a child, and my sister. We weren't aloud to visit her often but I went there more than Bella. Bella was still shaken up; basically over everything. I was getting worried for her and Dr. Cullen was too; he never let her out of bed unless she needed to take a shower or do her business.

Dr. Cullen wasn't giving up on Harmony either. Everyday he went into her room and gently spoke to her. They say that speaking helps calm the patient because they might be able to hear you. I'd tried it a few times, but I'd felt stupid. I'd beat myself up over that. I couldn't give on my sister, I really couldn't. I was only going to accept there was no hope when that little heart of hers gave a finally thump, or she showed me she know longer wanted to battle.

I sat motionless in the hospital room, the scents of unidentifiable foods and medical substances invading my nose. There was always a dead silence, even as nurses and doctors chaotically conversated outside of my room. My eyes become fixated on a figure in the hospital hall that silently stared at me. Prickles formed on the back of my neck. I couldn't see the person; they were far back in the shadows.

Maybe I was turning insane. Nobody out in the halls noticed anything strange; it was just a trick of my imagination. With a sigh, I reached for the buzzer next to my bed.

It didn't take long for a nurse to saunter her small form into the room. She had light blond hair, glass blue eyes and a children's pair of scrubs on. I raised my eyebrows at her and she frowned. "All of the other nurses are busy. Are you okay?"

I bit my lip. "Do you work on the children's ward?"

She gestured to her clothes and rolled her eyes.

"Okay…" I paused. "That was a stupid question. Do you know Harmony Swan?"

Her eyes grew sad. "The 5-year-old child abuse case." It wasn't a question; it was a statement.

I closed my eyes briefly as I took a shaky breath. Was that how she was referred to now? _The child abuse case. _I wanted to vomit."She's my sister. And I want to see her."

The nurse slowly fiddled with her hands. "I'm so sorry; I do hope she gets better soon and that you'll be able to see her properly; awake and happy. I'll just go and see if you can."

I nodded. "Thanks."

When she disappeared down the hall, I flung the pillow over my face and let out big, uncontrollable sobs. This life sucked. It sucked so badly. _I wish mom would come back to save us._

The door slowly clicked open and I thought it was the nurse coming back. I was wrong. It wasn't the nurse. It wasn't a woman at all.

No, it was a man.

Well, more like Emmett. "Hey bro." He ducked down as he walked under the door-frame and then straightened up. Dr. Cullen was close behind him. "We came to take you to your sister."

I smiled in relief. "Good. I'm going insane in this damn room."

The ride – in the wheelchair – all the way to Harmony's room seemed to take forever. There weren't many visitors in the CCU – it was a quiet place, and an alert place. I was just glad my sister had a good team of doctors and nurses who were always on call.

When we went into her room, a nurse was gently wrapping her up into her little pink teddy bear blanket. When she was at home, she always snuggled with it. She had so many teddies in her 'tub' with her now. It was unbelievable. So many people had come and given their love. They'd bought teddies, blankets and even stuff for Bella and I too. We were all so grateful.

"She's easy to transfer around now," The nurse began as she cradled Harmony in her left arm as she sorted out the cot. "If you would like, you can hold her for a bit."

A small smile spread across my face. I was going to hold her – I was going to hold my sister. I nodded eagerly and waited for Carlisle to wheel me right up to the cot. I held out my arms eagerly.

Dr. Cullen helped move Harmony's tubes to a comfortable position as she was lifted into my arms. Even through the blankets material, I could feel her cold skin. It made me shiver too.

"Hey, little angel." I gently brushed my finger along her cheek. Her face was peaceful; almost still. Her little eyes were gently closed and dry. It was hard seeing her so helpless.

Her skin wasn't as blue as it had been the first few days and I was grateful; at least she was a little warmer now. She was precious; she needed to get through this.

I gently held on to her small fingers; feeling each little dent and brush of skin.

Then the machines erupted into a long, piercing screech. My heart tensed and I fought to get air in. I grasped Harmony tightly to my chest as Dr. Cullen tried to take her from me.

Flat lining. A flat line. On _my_ Harmony…

"Stay with me! Don't let me go cause I need you here with me! I don't wanna know what its like without you…stay with me. Please…"

* * *

:O I know, I know…shoot me :P

_REVIEW FOR MORE! PLEASE WITH EDWARD CULLEN ON TOP!_

_What do you think? _

_please review! :)_

_Savannah_

_xxxx_


	14. A home

_Chambers of the Soul_

_Summary: Bella lives with her abusive father; Charlie, her older brother; Maxi and her younger sister; Harmony. She almost thinks there's no hope but what happens when the new family comes to town? Will she ever be happy? What if Bella and her siblings became happy and then someone came back to haunt them…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All characters and other twilight-related things belong to SM. I only own the storyline._

* * *

Bella Swan POV

"Bella I really don't think it's smart to bring you down here right now." Edward clutched me to his chest as he carried me down the corridor of the CCU. Of course, we were both breaking the rules. I wasn't supposed to leave my bed without staff permission and obviously wasn't supposed be carried for starters by a teenage boy who could drop me any second. I didn't care.

The staff had stopped me from seeing my siblings for too long. I had warned them. Hadn't any of them got the message when I'd nearly attacked some stupid blond nurse who insisted I needed to sleep?

My patience had ended. The first chance I'd gotten, I'd yelled – literally – at Edward to get me the hell out of here. He protested many times of course, but eventually he gave up and lifted me from the bed and away from all the machines. That didn't mean he was okay with it. He was still trying to tell me anything could happen – that I'd perhaps have a heart attack and he'd have to perform CPR right there in the corridor. I wasn't bothered.

"Edward, please." I couldn't argue anymore. I just hoped begging would get us to Harmony's room.

It did, and I'd wished it never did.

As soon as we walked into the room, it was chaos. Edward spun his body around; shoving my head into his chest and tightening his grip on me. He was shielding me from something. It didn't stop my panic. I could very clearly hear the screeching of the monitors; alerting a flat line.

"Stand clear," That was Carlisle's voice. "Shocking!"

I pushed against Edward. I had to see. I had to be certain. It couldn't be my Harmony. It wasn't my Harmony. No.

The next thing I knew, I was flying. Okay, not literally. Edward's legs had collapsed on him and now we were near the wall; I was still facing away though I peered around his shoulder. I could see very clearly just what was happening.

Maxi was sat in a chair near Harmony's cot; his sobs growing louder. He was shaking and pretty much hysterical. He nearly pushed the nurse who tried to help him, over. Dr. Cullen and a CPR team were trying so hard to bring Harmony back. She lay lifeless in her cot; her hair sprawled out on the pillow.

The sight was too much. My fist snaked around the area of my chest; I was in so much pain. Was this emotional pain? No, this was physical. I wanted to tell Edward to help me, but no sound came out. I didn't know what was happening. What was going on?

And before I knew it, the screeching stopped. I heard the most precious sound. A heartbeat. Slowly, my gaze flickered upwards towards the cot. There it was; a perfect, weak heartbeat beating on Harmony's monitor. A tear slipped from my eye.

For some reason, I couldn't do anything else. I was lifeless, almost. I couldn't get air in and my heart was hurting so badly. I curled my empty fist around Edward's shirt and he slowly lifted me from him. "Bella?"

I let go of my heavy grip; my head falling forwards. I wanted to close my eyes but I was afraid of losing someone. I'd nearly lost Harmony.

Edward cursed. "Carlisle!"

It seemed to be the first time that Carlisle had seen us since we entered the room. He strode towards us as Edward got up and pulled me along with him. He looked angry and started yelling about how irresponsible Edward was. Then he saw me. "Good gracious." Just like that, I was snatched from Edward.

Carlisle told the nurse to get a gurney as he laid me gently across the floor and took my hand. The CPR team lingered under Carlisle's command.

"C-ar-Car…" I couldn't speak. I really couldn't. I was in so much pain.

"I know. I know." He whispered soothingly and cradled my head in his lap. "Talk to me, Bella. Can you tell me what's wrong? Do you have pain?"

My free hand pressed firmly down on my chest; as if it would get rid of the pain.

Carlisle looked at me worriedly. "Your chest is hurting you?" I nodded lightly. Then he went into doctor mode. The team got down on the floor and I started feeling quite scared. There were a lot of grown men around me and the one lifted my top up over my stomach to listen to my heart. I started freaking out; it was an automatic reaction.

"No!" That came out alright. I wiggled my legs and 2 men reached to hold them down. My arms were still free and I managed to use the one to push the one man in the stomach. He didn't even falter, just gently took my hand – which felt rather small in his – and placed it near my side. At this point, the tears were falling freely and I was screaming Carlisle's name. He tried to reassure me but my body didn't seem to want reassuring.

The pain was too much. I felt as if someone was running a heavy truck over me over and over. I couldn't breathe.

"Edward," Carlisle was alarmed. "Get the oxygen mask. Quickly."

In seconds, Carlisle lifted up my head and secured the mask over my face. "Stay with me, Bella."

I hardly heard the man on my right. He talked so softly. "Dr. Cullen, I think we should do an Echocardiography."

Carlisle nodded and the man – who Carlisle called Sam – was off across the room. I realized that he was helping the nurse with the gurney. Only Carlisle and two of the other men were needed to lift me onto the gurney. I knew Carlisle would have been able to do it himself if he hadn't of been holding the oxygen mask tightly on my face.

It was hard to stay awake because of the blur of the corridors going passed us was making me tired. I managed, though; to stay awake long enough to see the small room we went into. I also acknowledged being turned onto my left side and having all these little tabs attached to my chest. Then, I think I fell unconscious.

Or maybe I had just closed my eyes. I could still hear but it was only vaguely. Then, time passed and I was definitely gone. It wasn't death though – or at least I hoped it wasn't.

"Bella?" A familiar voice stirred me from whatever I was doing. I figured I was sleeping – or passed out. I pried my eyes open with a little bit of a struggle. It was Maxi.

His leg was propped up on a sponge chair that looked rather comfy compared to the other chairs, and his messy curls were falling around his face. He smiled weakly. "I though you weren't going to wake up…"

I started to push myself into a sitting position but sunk back down. I was in agony. My chest felt as though someone had ripped it right open. I closed my eyes for a brief moment. "Why? What happened?"

He stared at me. "You don't remember?" When I shook my head, he took a deep breath. "Harmony stopped breathing and Carlisle was performing CPR when you and Edward came in. You kind of freaked out…I had no idea what was happening! I was completely frozen. I started crying when Carlisle put you on the floor – it was so scary, Bells. You were just writhing in pain. You had pain in your chest, and when one of the medical team went to check your heart, you started kicking out at them." He grinned. "Pretty proud of that, Bells!" He turned serious again. "Then they had to perform something called an Echocardiography to get images of your heart – it apparently shows the size and shape and how well your heart chambers and valves are working."

I stared at him. "Why would they want to do that?" I took the glass of water obediently off him when he held it out to me. It felt good on my raw throat.

He took a shaky breath. "You had…you had a heart attack. Remember when you first came into the hospital? If Dr. Snow hadn't have found you in time, you would have had a heart attack and preferably died."

I covered my eyes with my hands. This seriously couldn't all be happening now. After all these years, the illnesses were now deciding to show? It was completely stupid. They could have appeared at different stages of our life – not all at once. I mean, we'd lived our life like this for most of the years we'd been here.

"Bells?" I didn't move my hands. I couldn't. I was crying. Proper crying. I bit my lip to stop the sobs, but they came out anyway. Then my body was shaking. "Oh, Bells."

I heard Maxi shift closer and then his arms were awkwardly wrapped around me. "It's going to be okay."

I nodded, and after a few minutes we pulled apart.

Then Carlisle walked in. His white doctor's coat seemed to suit him – it didn't look at all ugly. It actually made him look…almost sexy. Especially with his black stethoscope wrapped around his neck like that. He smiled gently as he approached my bed. "Hello, Bella."

"Hi." How lame. That didn't seem very polite.

"How are you feeling?" He didn't seem to realize. As he was saying this, he checked all the monitors and tubes and then carefully pulled me up. It was a much better attempt that what I had tried earlier on. It was less painful. The stethoscope was cold on my skin and I flinched a little, he apologized

It went on like that – professional I mean – until the nurse came and took Maxi to his bed.

Carlisle pulled up a chair and sat down. "Has Maxi explained what happened?" I simply nodded. "As of now, your heart is stable; thanks to the medication you're pumped up with." I followed his gaze to the IV. I groaned. I couldn't stand needles.

He smiled as if he'd read my mind, "It won't be for long."

I nodded. "Carlisle…" I took a deep breath.

"Yes?"

"Where will we go? When we leave, I mean." I looked down at the bed. "Even though I know it's probably way better than Charlie, I don't want to go to foster care. What if the family are horrible…" I trailed off.

He made me look at him and then totally serious, explained to me. "Esme and I talked to the child services, and they have agreed for you to stay at our home until they can find a proper foster home for you all."

I stared at him in disbelief. "You…you can't do that, Carlisle!"

"And why ever not, Bella?" He asked.

I shrugged. I had no idea.

He laughed once; obviously understanding my silence. I was stumped.

* * *

Better? :)

_REVIEW FOR MORE! PLEASE WITH EDWARD CULLEN ON TOP!_

_What do you think? _

_please review! :)_

_Savannah_

_xxxx_


	15. Lion and Lamb

_Chambers of the Soul_

_Summary: Bella lives with her abusive father; Charlie, her older brother; Maxi and her younger sister; Harmony. She almost thinks there's no hope but what happens when the new family comes to town? Will she ever be happy? What if Bella and her siblings became happy and then someone came back to haunt them…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All characters and other twilight-related things belong to SM. I only own the storyline._

* * *

2 months later

The nurse greeted me with a warm, welcoming smile on her face. "Bella! Nice to see you looking so healthy, sweetie!"

I smiled lightly. I was slowly getting back to my feet. Maxi had been the first to go home with the Cullen's. He'd spent a few more days in the hospital and then he'd finally been released to recover at the Cullen house. I was released 2 weeks after Maxi, and today we were picking up Harmony. We'd stayed with the Cullen's a lot longer than we'd all anticipated and one, cold night, Esme and Carlisle broke the news to us that they were going to adopt us. We were overwhelmed!

Harmony was much better than what she'd been when she'd first been brought here. She was a totally different child. A lot of people couldn't believe that she'd survived it all.

Esme and Rosalie walked beside me as we made our way down the corridor of the children's ward. We were all very excited to take Harmony home. She was excited too.

I slowly pushed the door to her room open and poked my head in. As soon as I did, I was met with round, deep brown eyes. I grinned.

Harmony reached her arms out towards me; her little curls bouncing in the process. "Bella!"

I raced towards the bed and pulled her fragile form into my arms. She was so tiny and vulnerable but I promised I'd take care of her. She wrapped her small little arms around my neck and buried her face in the crook of my neck. "Love you, sissy."

"I love you too." I whispered softly.

The nurse – who was starting to clear Harmony's things – smiled happily. "She's a real trooper. Definitely a fighter. Keep her safe."

I pulled Harmony back to stare into her small face. She stared right back. "Are you ready to go home?"

She looked around the room and then at Esme and Rosalie. I noticed the slight hesitation in her features when she laid eyes on our new family. Despite not being herself for the past few months, Harmony still had a hard time in trusting people. She'd only gotten used to Carlisle – as her doctor – and 2 nurses that came to see her every day. She was still unsure of how to react around the rest of the Cullen's. It was hard for her after the person she trusted her hurt.

"Esme and Rose won't hurt you, sweetie. Remember when I told you we were moving in with them? Like a real family." I tried to calm her nerves.

She turned back to me and pursed her lips. "No Dadda?"

"No, daddy." I assured strongly.

She bobbed her little head and kicked her legs against me. "OK!" She perked up, "Down, down!"

I laughed and lowered her to the ground. "You're not going anywhere in those pajamas!"

She looked down at her pink and white Winnie the Pooh t-shirt and shorts quietly. "Oh." She looked over at the nurse. "You help me get dressed?"

Addie nodded with a smile and retrieved Harmony's new clothes – which Alice had bought the previous weekend – from Rosalie's bag.

When we'd lived with Charlie, Harmony only had one pair of pajamas and 2 pairs of clothes. Having 4 different outfits a day seemed to overwhelm her small brain. When Addie was finished dressing her, she came out of the joint restroom with a little, shining smile on her pale lips. "Look Bella!" She said as she twirled. The dark pink polka dot thrills on the bottom of her trousers matched amazingly with her new 'Hello Kitty' light pink, thrill top and hair bow.

"Wow!" I said in amazement. "Don't you look just dandy!"

She giggled; covering her mouth with her hands. "Silly Bella." She strolled across the room in her little white sandals and hesitantly reached for Rosalie's hand.

Eagerly, Rosalie wrapped her large hand in Harmony's and without a word they made their way out into the corridor.

Esme shot me a look of happiness just before she dragged me to follow Rosalie and my sister.

The sight before my eyes wasn't an image I'd ever thought I'd see. I'd dreamed of it, but I'd never thought it'd become reality. Harmony was _skipping _gleefully down a corridor holding the hand of a _stranger_ with no care in the world. She had a light tint of pink on her cheeks and her eyes were finally full of life. Her steps each held their own, unique bounciness and she almost swayed from side to side as she went. She was a _happy_ child who was finally experiencing what it was like to be one. It made me want to cry, but I had to be strong for her. She was till very sensitive and unsure and needed a role model.

When the lift came to a stop and she ran to the reception, she abruptly stopped and turned to me. "Come on, Bella! Race me Bella!"

I rolled my eyes at Esme who gave a quiet laugh, and ran after my sister who was already making a run for the door. I caught up with her and pulled her up from behind before she could fully get outside. I swung her around and slobbered her in kisses.

She burst out in a fit of giggles and lit up when she saw the Cullen's car and Maxi standing outside it. "Maxi!"

"Harmony!" He yelled back in the same way and ran to meet us as we crossed the parking lot. "There's my little favorite princess."

She rolled her eyes – a trait she'd picked up from me – and gladly let him help her into her car seat.

She signaled for me to come over to her once Maxi was done and she pulled me down towards her face so that she could whisper something to me. "Your prince charming is here." She giggled and released, turning to look at Edward who was smiling in the front seat.

I shot a shocked-expression at Harmony who laughed at my fake-ness, and said "Hey prince charming!" to Edward which sent her into enough fit of giggles.

It was the most joyful day I'd had in my entire life. I had never seen Harmony this bubbly and full of beans before and it was simply amazing.

"Hey again, Bells." Edward said, reaching to give my hand a tight squeeze before he reached for the wheel. He made sure that Maxi, Rosalie and Esme were all ready to go before he pulled away from the hospital that had been our sanctuary for a few months.

Harmony babbled on to Edward as if there had never been anything wrong. A little after my release, she'd been moved to the children's ward and Edward had visited her everyday. She was okay with talking to anyone, she just didn't like touching or hugging certain people. They'd sit for hours and talk, and talk about pointless stuff – both of them enjoying each others presence.

"Addie helps me draw picture of your wedding," She began telling Edward loudly. "And Bella had on a _very _pretty dress that was like a princess and you were prince charming and you lived in a castle!"

Edward smiled as he took a turn on the road. "Did I have a white horse?"

Harmony scrunched her eyes up in thought. "No…you had a magical unicorn and he was rainbow!"

"Did he have a name?"

"Lion!" She said, giggling at her little joke.

I laughed too. I knew exactly why she'd named the unicorn lion. She'd expressed her feelings to me about Edward one night when I'd slept at the hospital with her.

Edward looked generally confused. "Lion? But a unicorn is a totally different creature!"

Harmony nodded. "Yes. But his name lion because your hair is like a lion."

Edward looked appalled. "I so do not look like a lion!"

"So do." Harmony reasoned, "Like a big, strong lion!"

He seemed to take that as a compliment. "Oh, okay, then. You may carry on little miss."

She smiled. "You love Bella and you go and bought a baby from the stalk!"

We both looked at each other and then burst out in hysterical laughter. Harmony had gotten one thing right; Edward and I were in love. But the baby thing had just gone way over the top.

"I don't think so, Harmony." I laughed. "I think we'll save up a bit more money before buying a baby, right Ed?"

He stifled his laugh and nodded seriously. "Yup."

Harmony frowned. "Princes no need more money…"

Edward pulled up into the driveway of the Cullen's and as soon as Harmony saw the house again, the conversation was forgotten. As soon as she was out of the car, she ran up to the door to greet the rest of the family.

As we were walking up the path, she poked her head through the blinds in the front room window. "Your baby be called lamb!"

I smiled.

* * *

Aw, this was simply too adorable :) I'm glad to get Harmony back. Thank me for not killing the little sweetie :)

_REVIEW FOR MORE! PLEASE WITH EDWARD CULLEN ON TOP!_

_What do you think? _

_please review! :)_

_Savannah_

_xxxx_


	16. My children

_Chambers of the Soul_

_Summary: Bella lives with her abusive father; Charlie, her older brother; Maxi and her younger sister; Harmony. She almost thinks there's no hope but what happens when the new family comes to town? Will she ever be happy? What if Bella and her siblings became happy and then someone came back to haunt them…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All characters and other twilight-related things belong to SM. I only own the storyline._

* * *

Like we always did every night, Edward and I were curled up together on one of the couches in the front room of the Cullen's house. We were watching some program on the Discovery channel, but my mind was elsewhere.

Edward picked up on my restlessness and squeezed my hand in comfort. "Hey, stop focusing on the front door. Charlie isn't going to come back."

"You don't know that…" I whispered, trying to keep my voice down so Harmony wouldn't hear me. "They don't even know where he is…"

"That doesn't mean he's going to come here." Edward whispered back.

I remained quiet. If Charlie was looking for all 3 of us, to make sure we were dead this time, he probably would've done it by now. He probably would've come when we were all in hospital. Or maybe he was waiting; ready to attack when we didn't expect it.

A shivered ran through my spine and I cuddled into Edward more tightly. He didn't mind.

I let thoughts run through my head for a few minutes before I commanded myself to snap out of it as Rosalie carried Harmony into the room.

Harmony, who was still a little unstable on her feet from recovery, stumbled towards the couch in her little pink tights and tutu with a matching pink polka dot top and climbed right up into my lap. She smiled at Edward happily and cuddled into the crook of my neck.

Alice, who'd walked into the room behind them, scowled in disproval. "Harmony," she chided, "You're supposed to keep your clothes nice and clean."

I rolled my eyes, "Alice, she's five years old."

She shrugged and picked up Harmony and placed her gently on the carpet. "Still, Rose and I spent 2 hours working on her so that she could rock the stage tonight."

"The floor," Edward corrected and removed Harmony from the carpet. "I think she's perfect the way she is, but if you must, get the fashion show over with."

Harmony always sat quietly through our bickering and when she saw we had stopped, she giggled. "Carliwle!" She screamed in her little voice. "Emseee! Come watch me strut!"

Esme and Carlisle appeared in the living room and sat themselves down on the other love seat. Emmett came slouching in very tiredly behind them. I didn't know where Maxi was. This worried me.

I got up from the couch knowing I was going to miss Harmony's show, but I needed to find my brother.

I took the staircase quickly before the others could call me back to the front room. "Maxi?" I whispered as I walked softly across the landing. I didn't want to scare him.

There was no answer, but I could hear heavy breathing from somewhere. I stopped, and then I listened. I quickly entered Edward's room and expecting to find Maxi somewhere. I didn't see him, but I could hear him. I scanned the room with watchful eyes and finally saw that Edward's built-in wardrobe was slightly open. I gradually made my way across the room and opened the door.

Maxi stared up at me; his brown eyes lifeless and his hair a messy nest.

"Oh Maxi," I whispered quietly; pulling him out and onto the floor. I clung to him and he clung to me; both of us taking comfort in each other. "What's wrong?"

He sat there quietly for a few moments before he stared at me. "What importance do we have? We weren't meant to live our lives the way Charlie made us – especially not little Harmony. But we adjusted to it. It was our life. Now it's not. I don't want to go back to that – I want to get far from it – but Bella, this isn't right either. It's not stable, it's unfamiliar and I don't like it. They're nice people, and it's a nice place, but this isn't home. Home is where mom is, home is Charlie – no matter how bad he is. I don't know what's happening Bella…I don't."

I sat there in silence – the thoughts running through my head. Was Maxi trying to say that he'd rather suffer in the hands of Charlie than be here with the Cullen's? He was, and I felt it too. The Cullen's were amazing and the best people there were, but Charlie's home was our home. No matter what happened there, it was our house. I didn't want to go back though – I just felt the longing.

I gripped Maxi's face in my hands and coaxed his breathing. "Maxi, calm down. It's alright, Max. It's okay. I love you Maxi, and we'll do it, alright?"

He nodded and I helped him to his feet. He said he didn't want to face everyone but I told him Harmony wouldn't want us to miss it. So, we went downstairs and joined the Cullen's.

"You like show, Bwella?" Harmony asked 15 minutes later. She jumped into my arms and snuggled there tightly.

"I sure did!" I informed her. "It was great. You're very pretty."

A light blush covered her small cheeks. "Thank you!" She whispered happily.

Everyone was gathered in the front room, all enjoying each other's company. Everything seemed perfect – everything seemed fine. If we worked on it, we would fit in fine here and we'd be happy again. Forget Charlie, forget the past. The future was coming.

Or so we thought.

Harmony was just falling asleep against me when the doorbell rang. Carlisle, who'd be interrupted from his TV program, slowly made his way to the door. His footsteps stopped, the door opened, a female voice.

"Hello…" A pause. "Is this the…Cullen residence?" The voice was sweet, perhaps mid 30's. I wasn't sure.

Carlisle was quiet for a few moments. "Yes, this is the Cullen house. May I help you?"

The female laughed. "Yes actually! Are you looking after Maxi, Isabella and Harmony Swan?"

Esme got up – after hearing our names – and rushed to the door.

Maxi, Harmony and I huddled together on the couch – all expecting the worse.

Esme butted in this time. "Yes, and how or why do you know this?"

There was an awkward silence, and then the stranger spoke. "My names Renee Swan. I'm here to take my children."

* * *

Guys, this is such a bad chapter. I know it, please don't rub it in. Right now I'm going through some stuff. I've got Depression and some other things and I've just lost all inspiration…It took me multiple weeks to just right this, and I'm so not happy with it. Everything right now sucks. I hope you can understand and you'll be patient with me.

_please review! :)_

_Savannah_

_xxxx_


	17. Bad feelings

_Chambers of the Soul_

_Summary: Bella lives with her abusive father; Charlie, her older brother; Maxi and her younger sister; Harmony. She almost thinks there's no hope but what happens when the new family comes to town? Will she ever be happy? What if Bella and her siblings became happy and then someone came back to haunt them…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All characters and other twilight-related things belong to SM. I only own the storyline._

* * *

Bella Swan

"I'm sorry," Esme spoke softly. "There must be some mistake."

"No," the woman replied. "No mistake, someone informed me my children were here and I'm here to collect them."

"You can't have them." Esme was a lovely person but was firm and strict when she needed to be. The woman didn't like this.

There was a crash of something, and then footsteps getting closer to us. I cuddled Harmony to me closely. "Hello?" This was Renee's voice.

I wanted to hide. She claimed she was our mother, but how would we be certain? And could we trust her, after everything?

The woman entered the front room. She stood at about 5'4" She was very pale, and had clear, blue eyes and wavy, brown hair. She was _similar _to the memories I had of my mother, but I wasn't certain, and that's what scared me.

"My babies!" She shouted loudly, causing Harmony to flinch. She came hurdling towards the couch and I held my hand out to stop her coming any closer. I didn't trust her at all.

Edward sensed my discomfort and took a step so he was stood between the woman and us.

The woman looked hurt. "Excuse me. I want to hug my children."

Edward shrugged. "They don't want to see you. How can we trust you?"

She retrieved a cell phone out of her side pocket and held it out towards Carlisle. "Call child services, they've cleared it. They were supposed to phone you."

Esme and Carlisle shared a look before he retrieved the phone and went off into the kitchen to speak.

We all refused to do anything until he came back. He eventually did. His face was solemn and he gave the phone back reluctantly. "They say that they've did a background check, etc. She is their mother and because we are not family, they must go to her. If Charlie cannot look after them, she must…" He spoke to Esme; not even daring to look at us.

Harmony reached out to Esme with her little hands and Esme took her automatically. The Cullen's had become our family. We'd spent weeks with them and we had learned to trust them.

I didn't trust this woman. Even if the records proved she was our mother.

"So, that settles it then." She smiled smugly. "Where do you keep your stuff?" She turned and started walking towards the stairs.

"Um, excuse me." Maxi started. Renee turned. "Just because you're our mother, doesn't make it right to strut around here like you own it. This is the Cullen's house you should respect it."

"Oh yes!" Renee paused as if she was recovering from something. "Oh dear me, where are my manners?" She came back to the front room and sat down slowly on a chair. "This hasn't been a good start. I'm so sorry, it's just I was so eager to get my children."

Because Carlisle was so caring and considerate he accepted her apology. I wouldn't have. He sat down with Esme and held onto Harmony's petite hand. "It's quite alright," He smiled. "I can understand how excited you must be to finally see them. But I must ask – pardon if I am rude – why are you meeting your children? You should already know them."

Renee fidgeted uncomfortably as all eyes turned on her. "Well…things with Charlie just didn't work out right…I couldn't handle him sometimes, he was aggressive." She paused, looking at Maxi and I. "I loved my children so much but with them they kept weighing me down. It was impossible to escape. I could clearly see how much Charlie loved his babies. He took Maxi and Bella fishing most weekends," She smiled softly at a memory. "Bella always came back grumpy and tearful. Charlie never understood why she didn't like fishing." She rubbed at the tear on her eye. "I thought that leaving the three of them here with Charlie was the best option they had – they had a nice life here. If I had known my children were to be in danger, I would never have left them…"

Esme was sobbing lightly and Harmony kissed her on the cheek. "I know what its like to feel trapped and weighted down but I would _never _think of leaving my children. Surely you must have known leaving them with Charlie wasn't right, especially if he was aggressive to you?"

Renee looked away guiltily. "I wanted to escape…all I was thinking about was myself. I couldn't bear to endure another day in that house. Charlie was a wonderful father back then, despite his anger. He loved his children. I guess me leaving turned him for good and I destroyed my own babies' lives…"

Carlisle looked at the three of us – Maxi, Harmony and I. He sighed softly and came to hug us all. He held onto Harmony for a long time. "Even though I love you all very much and have grown to be your father, your mother is here and you must go to her. We can keep in touch…"

Harmony clung to Esme when she put to the ground. "NO! I want mommy!"

Esme choked on a sob and anger passed Renee's face, but only for a second. She dropped to Harmony's level. "But baby, I _am _your mommy…"

Harmony pushed herself into Esme's leg and Esme lifted her up into her arms.

Maxi and I already had our bags on our backs with the very few belongings we owned ourselves, even if we were resistant to leave the Cullen's.

Harmony looked at me. "Safe?" she whispered.

I shrugged helplessly. "I don't know sweetie, I really don't." I turned to Renee. "She has trust issues."

Renee nodded, accepting that her youngest didn't want to touch her. She walked to the car silently but I could make out a smile on her face. It didn't make me feel happy; it frightened me.

Esme cuddled and kissed Harmony gently then switched her car-seat from their car to Renee's with Carlisle's help. It was a struggle trying to get Harmony into the unfamiliar car but she eventually gave up and dropped into slumber.

Maxi and I climbed into the car with no hassle of course, but inside we wanted to stay with the Cullen's. I especially wanted to stay with Edward.

Edward gave me a hug through the window and we kissed softly. "You have my number," he whispered. "If you _ever _need me – day or night – you just call me. I'll always be here for you."

I nodded with tears in my eyes and leaned back against the seat. To stop myself from crying, I tried not to look at everyone else as they hugged me and waved. Rosalie would miss Harmony so much. Alice would miss the fashion shows, the fun she had dressing up. Every Cullen would miss something, even Emmett and Jasper.

As Renee pulled out of the long driveway and turned onto the road, my stomach flipped. I was nervous, and I knew this wasn't a good sign.

The whole way I watched the restless blue eyes in the mirror, hoping I could see into the soul of the stranger who was my mother.

* * *

PLEASE READ!

I'm going to write a new story. Does anyone have any ideas of what it should be about? :) like who it should be centered around Rosalie/Emmett Edward/Bella etc;D and what plot it should have :)

_I put this chapter together quickly. Hope its okay! What do you think about Renee?_

_please review! :)_

_Savannah_

_Xxxx_


	18. Strange darkness

_Chambers of the Soul_

_Summary: Bella lives with her abusive father; Charlie, her older brother; Maxi and her younger sister; Harmony. She almost thinks there's no hope but what happens when the new family comes to town? Will she ever be happy? What if Bella and her siblings became happy and then someone came back to haunt them…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All characters and other twilight-related things belong to SM. I only own the storyline._

* * *

Bella Swan

I watched my mother carefully as she held Harmony's hand and walked her along the front room of her house. We were a 2 hour drive from Forks, and I was completely devastated. There was no way that I was able to get to Forks to see the Cullen's.

Harmony resisted slightly, tugging at Renee's blouse. Renee ignored her, continuing her walk through the front room and into the kitchen. When they moved from my sight, I followed them quickly.

Maxi was upstairs unpacking our stuff – we didn't really have a choice, but decided to be all in the same bedroom.

Renee didn't like this, but we weren't moving. She hadn't been in our life – we didn't need to obey her.

A bit roughly, Renee swooped Harmony off of her feet and sat her in the highchair.

"Um, Harmony doesn't need a highchair." I shot in my views quickly. "She's 5." Didn't Renee know this? I also noted the strange fact that Renee even had a highchair and all other baby supplies. It freaked me out a little – as if taking us home had been planned months before.

Renee ignored me and continued to do up the straps on the highchair. She crouched down and leaned onto the side of the highchair. "What do you want to eat, darling? Do you like fruit loops?"

Harmony turned her head towards me – confusion and curiosity on her small face.

"Cereal." I said quietly, pulling a chair from the table and sitting next to her. "We're not sure what she likes." I told Renee.

Back at Charlie's, we hardly had food. An odd piece of bread now and again. Some days he'd bring sweets, but that had been rare. At the Cullen's, we'd been given anything we'd wanted but Harmony had refused to eat anything but cereal and bread (toast.)

"Oh," Renee began bluntly. She straightened up and went to the cupboard, pulling out the fruit loops anyway. "Well, unfortunately I haven't bought much else so these will have to do." She smiled. "They are okay though?"

I nodded, trying to smile at her. I didn't trust her, but she seemed to genuinely be working it out for us.

With the fruit loops in front of her, Harmony studied her spoon.

It broke my heart, and little tears blurred my eyes. They didn't fall. Even though Harmony had left the hospital, her little body had been fighting so hard to survive. Someone her age wasn't supposed to survive anything like that, and she was still weak. Esme had taken up the role of carrying her, dressing her and feeding her.

I'd only been in the house for under an hour and I was already ready to leave. It had an extremely odd an uncomfortable vibe to it and I didn't feel part of a family at all. It was like 3 children had been dumped into a random house, with a stranger.

It wasn't nice. Not at all.

I could only imagine what Harmony was thinking and feeling.

She finally grasped the spoon – in the completely wrong way (she was able to do it the right way before the accident) – and it slipped out of her hand into the bowl.

Renee rocked on her feet, reaching forward and then holding back. She backed into the sink and stood there, staring at the wall.

I looked at Harmony, removing the sticky spoon from the cereal and wiping it on a cloth. I took her hand and set the spoon back in it properly. I then guided her hand in picking up a spoonful of loops. I then turned her hand, the spoon coming towards her mouth.

Harmony looked at me the whole time, frustrating tears streaming down her face. She opened her mouth just as the spoon got there and swallowed quickly. She was hungry, but I knew her. She was stubborn and wouldn't eat if I kept feeding her.

She had resisted Esme many times, but as time went on her trust in Esme rose and she depended on her a lot. Now Esme had been ripped from her and I knew she was confused.

She followed my previous actions, failing a few times to hold the spoon, but when she did she popped the food into her mouth.

It took her twice as long to finish the food but when she did, I was very pleased for her. She had done it, with no assistance from Esme or anyone else.

I took her fro the highchair, not even waiting for Renee's approval. "I'm going to take her upstairs; she needs to be changed soon."

Renee stared at me, her eyebrow arched. "She has to be changed?"

I nodded. "Since the…accident…she's been back in diapers. It scared her so bad that she's unable to control her pee and her bladder is trying to adjust to injuries." I didn't feel comfortable discussing Harmony's condition, and I hoped it was just because Renee was still new to us, and I wasn't very trusting.

Renee's face confronted in pain and she shook her head. "How awful. Well, you go on upstairs, I'm going to stay down here."

I couldn't leave the room quick enough. Harmony hooked onto me tightly and I rushed us towards the stairs.

When my foot reached the bottom step, I hesitated. I stared at the dark green carpet covering all of the steps and swallowed my fear. Why was I scared? My instinct was to back away and walk out of the door. Instead, I placed my food on the soft surface and 2 by 2, took the stairs.

I was so restless. It just didn't feel right that the 3 of us were taken from the Cullen's in a blink of an eye and placed into Renee's care when we didn't even know her. Couldn't we have had meetings first? To get to know her?

Did social services not care that Harmony had to adjust to this new home, new person, and new surroundings? She was 5 years old!

I found Maxi in our room, sat on the window seat looking out at the grass surrounding the home. He'd finished packing – all of our stuff packed neatly away. I nodded at him and placed Harmony down on the bed. "Are you scared?" I asked him.

I could hear him take a breath. "Yeah. A little. I was getting used to the Cullen's and they loved us. We could trust them..."

I grabbed the powder and a new pull-up from Harmony's bag. "Do you trust her?"

He knew who I was talking about. "No. Not at all. But I don't know if that's because I don't know her or because she left us."

"Me either."

Before we could speak anymore, there was a huge clanging of something. And it was heavy. A lot of different sounds going off all together from downstairs. It sounded like kitchen sets – pots, pans, metal. It scared us all.

Maxi ran to the stairs, staring down. I followed him, leaving Harmony in the room – away from the danger.

It wasn't that we couldn't see the danger that scared us once on the stairs. It was the fact that the whole downstairs had gone dark and there was absolutely no one in the house.

* * *

PLEASE READ!

I have started my new story;D about Emmett and Bella. Inspired by Katiesparks21, thank you! it will be up soon, so watch out!;D

_I put this chapter together quickly. Hope its okay! What do you think about Renee?_

_please review! :)_

_Savannah_

_Xxxx_


	19. Saving mission

_Chambers of the Soul_

_Summary: Bella lives with her abusive father; Charlie, her older brother; Maxi and her younger sister; Harmony. She almost thinks there's no hope but what happens when the new family comes to town? Will she ever be happy? What if Bella and her siblings became happy and then someone came back to haunt them…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All characters and other twilight-related things belong to SM. I only own the storyline._

* * *

Bella Swan

"Maxi," I whispered, grasping his elbow. "Why would she leave abruptly like that? And what on earth was that noise?"

He disappeared for a moment and then came back cradling Harmony. "We should go look…"

He was scared. It was evident in his voice.

I nodded even though he wouldn't be able to see it, and started on the stairs. Each step we took made one of those ear-piercing screeches. You know, the sound in a horror movie when someone is trying to be quiet but fails miserably. That was us.

Living our own, very real and very scary, nightmare.

Once I got to the bottom of the stairs, I flipped the light switch on and stared at the empty downstairs of Renee's house.

I was confused. Very, very confused. Where had Renee gone so suddenly? I peered around the stairs to see the basement door wide open. I wrinkled my noise at the old-abandoned smell and turned back my head. "Can you believe this? She didn't even leave a note. I mean, child services wouldn't be very pleased with this would they?"

Maxi shook his head. "This is terrible. She could have told us she was leaving…Why didn't she ask us to go too?"

"Maybe she like daddy…" Harmony whispered, her big brown eyes staring at me in fear.

I took her from Maxi and rubbed soothing circles in her back. She could remember clearly what Charlie did to her. She'd often wake up screaming that the water was stealing her breath and she was going to die. "Sweetie, I don't think she's like daddy."

But that was the problem. I didn't know. I didn't know our own mother. She was the one who walked out and caused the mess.

We were walking across the front room towards the kitchen when a bang went off somewhere else in the house. It was coming from downstairs, I just wasn't sure where.

"But she left…" He said, panic taking control of his features. "I mean…the door went and everything."

I nodded and held my finger to my lip as a signal for him to be quiet.

He got the point and sat down on the couch with Harmony, trying to distract her from the noises.

I listened again, trying to pinpoint where the soft, continuous bang was coming from. It seemed to be under the floor. I walked quietly, each step sounding like an elephant. My heart was on the edge.

I finally pinpointed where the noises were coming from. They were coming from the wide-open door under the stairs that led to the basement.

I knew it was a bad idea to check. To walk towards something I was scared of. But I did anyway.

I walked right into its trap. Right into the spider's lair.

As I step through the door and began walking down the stairs, it shut behind me and there was complete darkness. Noises were coming closer and closer, louder and louder.

I wanted to scream but no sound came out.

My feet were swept from under me from some unknown source I couldn't see, and my head took a hit against the hard, wooden steps.

The darkness began creeping away, and my eyelids swept shut quickly.

Edward Cullen

"Alice?" I asked my sister who had her back towards me as she searched the web.

She turned and shook her head mutely. "I haven't found anything, Edward. I'll keep looking. Thanks for staying out of my head."

I smiled. It was the least I could do. "No problem, little sis."

I got up from the couch, too anxious to sit down. I tried listening to every thought in the house, all of them negative. No such luck.

We were searching Renee Swan. Even though child services had confirmed that she was aloud to take her children, I didn't like her. There was something fishy. What was worse is that just like Bella and Maxi, I couldn't read her mind either. Alice couldn't see their futures either so we were pretty much screwed.

It wasn't possible for us to keep tracks on the people we'd accepted into our family.

Esme had been worrying out of her mind. Every since she watched Harmony disappear in that car, she hadn't come out of her room. Harmony had kept her occupied. She was a growing human who depended on people to get her through the day. Esme had felt like a mom for once.

Their lives had finally been coming together and in place and then their own mother had come in and unsettled them again. I could only imagine what they were dealing with right now.

Renee brought back bad memories for Bella, I knew that. And I didn't blame her. The last time she'd seen her mother, she'd left them for death with Charlie. It was totally normal for Bella to be feeling like that.

And I was so worried about her. So scared. How often would I get to see her now with her living somewhere else? And would Renee let me see her? We were in love…so in love. It would be wrong to keep us apart.

"This woman is like a ninja or something…" Emmett muttered quietly as he looked over Rose's shoulder onto the computer screen. "There's hardly anything about her. How can a human do that?"

"Oh, it's very possible." Carlisle told him. "But only skilled humans will figure out how to keep themselves completely away from the internet and any records, like herself."

"Charlie's a police officer…" Jasper put in. He was always the smart one. "He knows exactly how to wipe people from records as if they never even existed."

I agreed with him, taking in all of my family's thoughts. There was one that was bothering me a lot.

I took the stairs two at a time and knocked lightly on Esme and Carlisle's bedroom door. I didn't want to just barge in, it was rude. "Mom?"

"Come in." She spoke quietly, but of course everyone in the house could hear her.

I took a step into the room, studying her with narrowed eyes. She was led on their king-size bed, her eyes staring up at the plain ceiling. I sighed. "Mom, you can't just lie here and think about them. We need to be up and active, hunt and find them. Just to check on them. I mean, if you see them happy, you'll be happy right? To see Harmony interacting with her real mom, laughing and playing?"

Esme cast her eyes towards me and her thoughts spiralled quickly. "I guess so. She deserves that."

"I agree. They all deserve to be happy. They're so strong and amazing." I smiled. "For humans."

We both grinned at each other but we were interrupted by the others.

'_Edward,' _Rosalie thought urgently. '_You should see this.'_

I sped down the stairs to the computer in vampire speed. Esme was hot on my heels.

I stared at the screen. If I'd had a human heart, it'd have been beating.

"There's a record here," Rosalie read to everyone. "A file of a Lanae Sawyer…or something." She wrinkled her nose. "Well anyway. There's a picture, it looks like Renee but slightly different. There's a whole track of criminal records; the list goes on and on." She looked up with fears in her eyes. "Do you think Renee would change her name all those years ago?"

"To get back to her children without being suspicious, yeah." Alice said. "If she changed her name when she left Charlie and committed all this stuff…she may have changed her name back 2 years ago or something – planning to get to Bella, Maxi and Harmony. If you look, there are no records after 2 years ago."

I nodded. It seemed to work. But wouldn't people know she was the same person? Like child services? Had they just made one huge mistake?

"If this is still her address now, then I know where they are. It's a 2 hour drive, human speed." Emmett said, pulling Rosalie close to him.

"Okay," I said and told everyone to get ready. "That's it; we're going to go visit them. Who knows, we may be wrong…"

But deep down inside me I somehow knew we weren't wrong.

* * *

so, who forgot the Cullen's were vampires? ;D Go back to chapter 3 for a reminder;D

I don't know why some people found the last chapter confusion…but well yeah. So, here it is; Renee has finally come back to take her children back after she left them with Charlie. She realizes it was a mistake and takes them to her house where they will live now. The last chapter was the first time Bella, Maxi and Harmony had been in Renee's house. The accident Bella was referring to was the one that took place with Charlie. Where he beat them all up, and drowned Harmony. Sorry guys, I know my head isn't with it atm… :/

_I put this chapter together quickly. Hope its okay! What do you think about Renee?_

_please review! :)_

_Savannah_

_Xxxx_


	20. Thoughts of Edward

_Chambers of the Soul_

_Summary: Bella lives with her abusive father; Charlie, her older brother; Maxi and her younger sister; Harmony. She almost thinks there's no hope but what happens when the new family comes to town? Will she ever be happy? What if Bella and her siblings became happy and then someone came back to haunt them…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All characters and other twilight-related things belong to SM. I only own the storyline._

* * *

Edward Cullen

"This is it." Emmett announced quietly from the driver's seat. Rose reached over from the passenger seat and squeezed her husband's hand in hers for comfort.

"Are you sure?" I asked, turning to look at the huge house on the side of the street that looked perfectly normal and content.

_I'm very sure, Edward. _Emmett thought. _Can you smell that? Blood.  
_

I sniffed my surroundings and followed the rest of the family up the short path. I could definitely smell something and it wasn't good. I knew that scent anywhere. Bella's scent. Loud and clear. Blood.

My nostrils flared and I kicked down the door in one quick motion; having no thought at all for the other humans inside their houses on the other side of the street and on our side.

"Edward," Carlisle warned as he hurried before me into the pitch-black downstairs of the eerie house. "You need to keep a low profile."

"Sorry," I muttered coldly. Ignoring the rest of my family, I rushed forwards to the stairs; already making out that that was where Bella's scent was the strongest. I ignored a worried Maxi shuddering on the couch with Harmony. I was only worried about my Bella.

What on earth had happened?

"Bella?" I called at a loud, human level. I took a tedious step towards the darkened stairs of the wide-open door that most likely led to a basement.

Carlisle was close behind me and he gestured me down the steps. We needed to move fast. What came next surprised us both though, and slowed down our movements.

Just as I was about to fly down the broken steps, a tall, dark figure shot out from hiding. A human figure. I surged forward on impulse; hearing the horrid and demented thoughts of the attacker. Charlie _fucking_ Swan.

I growled and lunged; my vampire characteristics pushing back the controlled, reserved person I'd try to be since my turn. "How dare you!" I yelled. "You vile excuse of a human being!"

Charlie grunted under me, his dark brown eyes swirling with outrage. I didn't back down and locked my arms around his neck; causing him to reach up and scratch my own in a feeble attempt of defense. It was pointless; I could kill him in an instant though I refused too. He deserved to suffer.

"Edward," Jasper called quietly from beside me. He jumped forward when Charlie and I rolled over; pulling Charlie into the air with one hand so that I could stand up. _Go! Bella needs you! Emmett and I will deal with him._

The vampire inside me grunted in protest but my love for Bella surged stronger. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and settle me, and then shot down into the basement with Carlisle.

My heart or mind weren't prepared for the scene before me. My eyesight was very clear since I was a vampire and even in the darkness full detail lay before me.

Bella was rolled onto her side in amongst broken plates and other house-hold essentials. She had a head wound which was turning her chocolate hair into a pool of red, and it dripped steadily down her pale face. Her eyes were gently shut; alerting me that she had – at some point – dropped unconscious. Cuts and gashes plastered her pale, fragile skin and I couldn't help but whimper. The most deplorable sight, though, was not seeing Bella. As I ran my eyes over her frail body progressively, I noticed something inexcusable. From the waist down, Bella was absolutely naked. Blood stained the dirty floor under her and anger surged inside me.

"Son of a bitch!" I screamed loudly. My feet were rooted to the ground – my hands clenched in tight balls at my side.

Carlisle shot me a concerned look before he moved to Bella's side. He gently lifted her into his solid arms and spread her across a free patch of floor to the side of him. _Edward, _He looked up at me. _I need your help. This is Bella._

I nodded, swallowing needlessly. I willed myself to move and approached her shaking body. It took all my strength. I slowly fell to my knees and pulled her small head into my lap. Stroking the blood-stained hair off of her face, I watched Carlisle carefully.

He took out some antiseptic wipes from his black medical bag along with a small tube of water and a cloth and began cleaning the horrid gash on her head. "Would you like me to stitch it here or let the hospital deal with it?" He asked me respectably; allowing me some control.

"Here please," I whispered. I trusted him greatly, much more than those pathetic humans who sometimes didn't know what they were doing.

He simply nodded and worked quickly; dabbing watchfully as so not to hurt her even though she was unconscious. When the wound was clean, he retrieved the required equipment. He stitched the wound skilfully and I felt a little better knowing that one would was covered. He cleaned the area and wiped the blood from her face with a normal, baby's wet wipe and released a small sigh as he looked at the rest of her body. "These cuts are too small to deal with, but I can clean them in case of infection." He murmured, working rapidly again.

When Bella's wounds were dealt with, I shifted her across my legs and tried not to stare down at her lower half. "Carlisle…" I choked; unable to finish.

He nodded; disappearing up the stairs before coming back with a fluffy blanket and a long skirt I'd never seen before. He'd retrieved it from upstairs. "Cover her up until we get to the hospital. They'll need to examine her."

I frowned, quickly pulling the skirt up Bella's tiny legs. I held her up by the center of her back and gently wrapped the huge blanket around her whole body. "My Bella." I murmured. "I'm so sorry."

Carlisle lowered himself to the floor, quietly studying her face. He checked her breathing, circulation and airways calmly and seemed content with what he found. He nodded. "Don't try to wake her, and just hold her as steady as you can. My guess is that she was knocked unconscious; awoke and then gave in a while later. Charlie may have knocked her out, and continued the attack once she awoke. It seems that she gave in."

I nodded reluctantly. It wasn't like Bella. She would fight until the end if it meant keeping her siblings safe. My mind flashed to Maxi and Harmony. I heard their steady breathing upstairs and released a small sigh.

"Rosalie?" I asked quietly, knowing my sister and mother were probably with the two humans.

_They're okay, Edward. _She told me silently. _Harmony is scared to death, and Maxi is shaken up but they seem to have no major injuries. Maxi has a small cut to his knee, though._

I followed Carlisle out of the basement and saw Esme and Rosalie sat on either side of Maxi; calming him softly. Harmony was huddled in his strong grasp with tears running down her face. Alice was perched on the other side of the room staring at them all. I heard Emmett and Jasper outside; dealing with Charlie. His heartbeat had already stopped minutes earlier, and they were making sure he was fully dead. They were to dispose of the body and make up a story about how he got away. We couldn't confess to murder.

At the sight of Bella in my arms, Maxi let out a loud yelp and Esme comforted him softly. "I tried!" He screeched. "I tried to get to her! But I couldn't! I couldn't see! I tripped!"

"It's alright, sweetheart." Esme murmured softly, stroking his curls. "An ambulance is on its way and she's going to be fine."

"Rosalie," I called to her lowly so that any human wouldn't hear. "Charlie raped her. I need you to stay with her."

Rosalie stiffened momentarily before she rose to her feet. _That bastard deserves to rot in the deepest pits of hell. And that damn mother! How dare she lead these innocent children into a trap like that! I can't believe she had Charlie in her house all along ready to strike at the right time! _She came towards me and stroked Bella's hair and gave her a gentle kiss.

When the EMT's arrived, Carlisle and Rose went in the ambulance with Bella and quickly left for the hospital. I never wanted to leave Bella's side but she needed Rose and Carlisle right now.

A police officer ushered the rest of us out of the house and we all stood restlessly on the front porch. I willingly shut out the curious minds of those in the neighborhood. Stupid humans. I ran through quickly what had happened; using the story Esme had made up in her mind dexterously. "They used to live with us after they were taken to hospital for being abused. Charlie was on the run and no one knew where he was. We offered our home to them, and we took care of them. A few days ago, their mother, Renee, came back and took them back here with her. She had been confirmed by child services. Bella rung me earlier on today very frightened and upset and we got here as soon as we can. We believe that Renee was hiding Charlie here in the house and he attacked them before they could work things out. When we got here, Charlie and Renee were already gone."

"Thank you, Mr. Cullen. Do any of you need a lift to the hospital?" The police man looked sincere.

We all shook our heads but thanked him anyway and left for the hospital. When arriving there, I shifted uncomfortably in the huge waiting room – dread and fear rolling around in the pits of my stomach.

Bella had to be okay. She just had to be. They needed to know about us after all of this was over. No more lies, no more secrets. They'd been through enough. If they were going to live with us, they needed to know we were vampires.

I just hoped that she would make it and fight. How had we let this happen?

* * *

I'm so sorry about the lack of updates guys! I just didn't have a clue how to finish this story or anything, but now I have some sort of idea of where it's going :') I hope this chapter lives up for the wait, and I hope you guys are still here:) Please review, it'll make me update:)

_please review! :)_

_Savannah_

_Xxxx_


	21. My Angel

_Chambers of the Soul_

_Summary: Bella lives with her abusive father; Charlie, her older brother; Maxi and her younger sister; Harmony. She almost thinks there's no hope but what happens when the new family comes to town? Will she ever be happy? What if Bella and her siblings became happy and then someone came back to haunt them…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All characters and other twilight-related things belong to SM. I only own the storyline._

* * *

I entered the room quickly, not wanting to awake Maxi who was sleeping contently in one of the uncomfortable, plush hospital chairs to the side of Bella's bed.

I lifted another chair effortlessly and placed it inaudibly next to Bella's bed. I sat down quickly; hoping my swift actions wouldn't wake the two sleeping humans. "Hey baby-girl." I murmured, stroking Bella's warm cheek my cold hand.

She shifted in her slumber; tugging at the tubes around her. I sighed inwardly. She was so strong. How many times had she been in a hospital bed fighting for her life? I studied her carefully, taking in her battered form and wincing. We'd let them down. They had trusted us, and we'd just shipped them off without even investigating. What had we done?

She was curled on her side facing me; an oxygen mask over her face and an IV in her hand. She was battered and her breathing seemed to be a struggle. The monitors beeped and hummed loudly around her but she remained content and stationary.

"I'm so sorry," I started. "We never meant this to happen. I hope you'll trust us again. I know you were becoming so happy, and little Harmony is broken down again, but I promise we'll never, ever do this again. I'm so, so sorry Bella." Venom tears were starting to form in my eyes and I tried to push them away. I couldn't break down.

_Edward? _Carlisle's thoughts rang out from outside of Bella's private room. _May I come in?_

"Sure Carlisle." I permitted and he came through the door quietly. He smiled at me, his thoughts ringing with hope, and moved to check the machines. He appraised them slowly and then turned to look over Bella.

"Is she alright?" I asked him; worried for her health and safety.

He nodded. "Surprisingly yes," He met my gaze. "I know you are very worried about Bella's mental health but she has gone through so much already and I believe that she will pull through this too. Charlie and others – such as Tyler – have all attempted or raped Bella, as much as it pains me to say it."

I nodded. "They are sick bastards." I cursed angrily. "Vile excuses of human beings. I could never hurt someone so innocent like that."

Carlisle agreed both through mind and voice. "Yes, Edward." He looked at Bella once more. "She's stable and doing well though I am slightly worried about her breathing. She seems to be struggling."

I reached out to Bella carefully and stroked her flustered cheek. Her breaths were rapid and strained and I knew if she was awake, it would hurt her a lot. "Can't you do anything?"

"I'd like to keep her on the oxygen at the moment but if that doesn't seem to work then we can try the nebulizer with beta agonists to help relax the smooth muscle around the airway. If all fails; intubation and ventilation." He told me solemnly.

I sighed again. Bella went through so much. She was so strong.

Carlisle left a few minutes later to give Bella and I some time together. About 10 minutes later, she began stir.

I stroked her cheek in a continuous pattern as she was regaining consciousness. When her eyes fluttered open, shut and then reopened, I smiled softly. "Hello sweet pea."

She grumbled in irritation and blinked at me in confusion. "E-Ed-Edward!?" She gasped out, her hand reaching out to hold her throat.

I pulled her hand back softly and pulled it towards me. "Shh, Bella. It's me. It's Edward."

"You…" She struggled to find her breath. "You were gone…"

I nodded and readjusted the mask over her face. "Yes. Do you remember what happened, Bella? At Renee's house?"

She studied me for a few quiet moments and then reached nervously for my hand. I let her take it. "Yes." She whimpered. "Now I do," She quietly added.

"It's okay, sweetie." I soothed. I brushed the hair back from her sweaty faced and pressed her back against the pillows when she tried to get up. "You just focus on resting, please."

"I don't want to rest." She protested. "What about Maxi and Harmony?" Her eyes went wide.

I grinned at her actions. She was still so protective, even when she was hurt herself. "They're fine. Maxi is over there," I pointed and she followed my gaze; clearly shocked that she hadn't noticed him. "and Rosalie is taking good care of Harmony. They aren't hurt – at least physically."

She finally nodded after looking over Maxi with her eyes. She seemed satisfied but then withered in pain. "My throat hurts."

"It will," I informed her. "Your breathing has been affected, but you should be fine too. It's already getting easier." I smiled at the improvement and she smiled back.

"You saved us."

I shifted nervously at the statement and tried to look away from her. I knew the questions that followed. "Yes, Bella. We saved you."

"How?" She demanded. Despite my earlier protests, she pushed herself up and stared into my eyes.

"We knew where you were…" I bit my lip tenderly and stared down at her hand in mine. "There's something you need to know…"

I looked back up to her face to see her big, chocolate brown eyes staring at me so innocently. "You're nervous." She stated. "Please don't be nervous, Edward. You're not a bad person…"

"You won't say that if you know the truth…" I managed to get out. I didn't know how to tell her. It could put them in danger with the Volturi, but I just couldn't lie to them anymore.

"I'm a…vampire, Bella." I choked out eventually, looking down at my feet that were tapping restlessly on the sterile hospital floor.

The silence lasted for a number of minutes, both of us sitting perfectly still. Eventually it broke.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a huge grin take over Bella's face. "My angel." She murmured.

I looked at her in bewilderment. "I don't think you heard me correctly, Bella. _Vampire,_ not angel…"

She laughed softly and shook her head at me, the grin still on her face. "I heard you. I'm not bothered that you're a vampire, Edward. You and your family are like our saviors! Our angels! You came into our lives when we needed you…You'll never be a monster."

"Then ask me the most basic question." I stated bluntly.

She frowned. "You don't eat people Edward…"

I shook my head in agreement. "No, but I kill animals. I've killed humans, Bella, in the past. Not now, not after I found Carlisle; we like to see ourselves as vegetarians of our kind. Only feeding off of the blood of animals."

"That doesn't matter, Edward. We all eat animals. It's life. You're not a monster if you can stand to be around humans like this…especially here in the hospital." She told me, ever the sweetheart.

"It's difficult." I confessed. I searched for any clear sign that she was afraid of me but found none. "I just wanted you to know…"

"Then I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me." She said; a sly grin on her face as she pushed herself towards me.

I pulled her carefully into my arms but still kept her on the bed. I lifted the mask for a second and planted a careful, soft kiss on her lips and then her forehead, and then pressed her back against the pillow. "You need to rest, Bella. You're in pain."

She frowned, as if only realizing her throat was now hurting her. "Ow," She wheezed, pressing a small hand over her throat. "It really hurts now. Thanks for the reminder."

"No problem." I smiled down at her although I hated to see her in pain. "I love you, Bella." I whispered as she closed her eyes.

"I love you too, my angel." She grumbled at the edge of slumber. Then, her lips pressed in a tight line and she fell into a deep slumber.

_My_ angel…

* * *

Sorry for the delay; major writers block at the moment, life has just been so hectic in sorting some things out :')

_Savannah_

_Xxxx_


	22. Home at last

_Chambers of the Soul_

_Summary: Bella lives with her abusive father; Charlie, her older brother; Maxi and her younger sister; Harmony. She almost thinks there's no hope but what happens when the new family comes to town? Will she ever be happy? What if Bella and her siblings became happy and then someone came back to haunt them…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All characters and other twilight-related things belong to SM. I only own the storyline._

* * *

5 months later

"_Hello Dear Jesus,  
It's been a long, long time.  
I hope that you still know me,  
I've been hiding quite awhile.  
I know that you know all things  
Still, I think I should explain,  
The reason I've been hiding  
Is because of all the shame.  
I know that I don't look so great  
for meeting up with you  
But I hope you understand  
I've been alone since I was 15.  
You probably see the dirt marks  
And smudges on my face  
but it seems no matter how I try  
some things can't be erased.  
They say that eyes are windows  
that peer into the soul.  
I'm afraid that if you look there,  
You'll find it dark and cold.  
I'm not sure why it is, Lord,  
But you won't see any tears.  
I guess they've just been locked up  
inside me all these years.  
I know that limp and lifeless  
is my unruly hair.  
I guess that's just what happens  
when no one really cares.  
And if you ask a question  
I won't have much to say.  
I've found that no one really wants  
to hear me anyway.  
And if you care to listen,  
Sit quiet and you'll hear  
How hard my heart is pounding.  
That's because of all the fear.  
You'll notice that I wrap my arms  
around me all the time.  
I do that for protection  
of the things that should be mine.  
See, not so very long ago,  
Without an ounce of care,  
Someone took away from me  
Things I never meant to share.  
And if you find I tremble  
when you come close to me,  
It's because of all the dreadful things  
That someone did to me.  
Jesus I'm so sorry  
If these things have saddened you.  
But when I cried out to you  
You never told me what to do.  
I know that in my mother's womb  
You created me  
And I can't help but wonder  
Is this what I was meant to be?  
They say that you are everywhere,  
With each and every one,  
But it seems that on those dark nights  
You left me all alone.  
They tell me that you love me  
And I suppose it's true,  
But Jesus, please remember  
That he said he loved me too."_

"Hey Bells." Maxi greeted happily as he closed the door to my room and sat down on my bed. "Reading old poems?"

I nodded. "I just…it seems so unreal to be where we are today. These poems are clear memories for me, even now." I looked at him closely and beamed inside at how healthy he looked. His cheekbones had risen, his face had filled out, and there were no more dark circles under his eyes. He looked so lively and vigorous.

He smiled softly and took my old journal from me. "No more living in the past, Bells, the Cullen's love us and we're part of their family now. Dinner's done anyway." He told me.

I nodded. "Sure, that's true." I was finally happy. Someone in this world had accepted us for who we were. They loved us. They really did. We finally had a family that cared for us.

I followed Maxi out of my room and we both headed down to the dining room for dinner. Having food available to us all the time was also a change, but definitely a good one. Food was just so tasty.

"Hello Maxi, Bella!" Esme greeted in the dining room where she was dishing out some boiled potatoes onto our plate. "Come sit down, Carlisle has some wonderful news!" She beamed happily and fluttered to her seat, picking up her cutlery from the end of the table as she went to hand to us.

Confused, I pulled a chair out and sat in-between Edward and Harmony (who was sat on a giant medical book to reach the table). Edward greeted me with a small kiss but seemed too occupied with Harmony at the current moment.

"So, what do you guys want to tell us?" Maxi asked as he sat on Harmony's other side and began chopping up her food for her. She loved living with the Cullen's.

Carlisle sat up a little straighter in his seats, pretending to eat some food for Harmony's sake. "Charlie and Renee have been charged with the required charges. Renee, for obvious reason, was not charged with any serious offense, but was charged and fined for supporting the act of child abuse and being aware of it but failing to report it. Charlie was sent down to a minimum of 40 years in prison, and it is certain you won't be seeing either of them ever again."

I nodded and looked at little Harmony, at how far she'd come. She was so strong and so bubbly and confident with herself now. She was just like any other child, and I didn't want either of her parents to ruin it again. "Thank you…for fighting for us…for helping us. I never thought we would do it. All though I believe that anyone who hurts a child should get life in prison or the death penalty, I'm thankful they did at least something for us…"

Carlisle smiled softly. "You're a very sweet girl, Bella."

I smiled in return.

When dinner was over, I took Harmony's hand gently and led her out to the back yard. It was a hot day, and Emmett and Jasper had set up the pool days before. I took her over to the pool where Jasper was filling up his water gun with an evil laugh. I tried to not pay attention to his glittery skin.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, causing him to jump.

"Well…" He said innocently as he clicked the gun into place. "I'm going to attack your boyfriend."

With one more evil laugh, he aimed the gun at Harmony and splashed her with the water before running off to the house.

I sighed and laughed at our big brother as Harmony recovered from the shock of the water.

"Swim now Bella?" She asked happily, already reaching to take off her t-shirt to reveal the swimwear underneath. We were prepared.

Before I could answer her, Emmett ran out of the house, swooped her out of my grasp and swung her into the air and into the pool.

"Emmett!" I scolded as he jumped in behind her. "She still has her clothes on!"

He picked her up in the water, pulling her close to his chest and taking off her now drenched clothes. "Sorry Bells, but if she had listened to you, she'd have been waiting for hours!"

Harmony giggled loudly as her big brother span her into the air and caught her before she submerged under the water. Due to the drowning Charlie had put her through, swimming under water still frightened her, but we were slowly helping her recover from her mental trauma. She was doing so well.

She was such a happy little girl now, always smiling and laughing and eager to try out new things.

"BELLA!" Edward roared behind me as he came running out of the house. The Cullen's were absolutely wild, that much was obvious. You did get used to it after a while.

"What?" I asked him with a smile as he pulled me to the side and hid behind me from the water gun Jasper was aiming at us.

"Put that down!" He told his brother. "Or the girl gets it!"

"I'm not scared of her." Jasper exclaimed, following his words by hitting me with a load of water.

I stood there in silence, debating how to kill them both. "Get out of my sight now," I joked. "Before I hang you from the tree and bitch-slap you."

Edward looked at me in shock and then jumped into the pool; splashing both Emmett and Harmony.

Harmony scowled at Edward and crossed her little arms. "No fair Daddy!"

I grinned at the sight. She loved Edward so much and seen him as a father-figure in her life. He loved the idea of her calling him daddy, and I was happy with it too.

"Oh really?" He questioned her as he took her gracefully from Emmett's arms and placed her on his back. He swam around the pool, holding on to the happy moments we were grateful to have.

I sat on the grass for about 1 hour, watching Harmony and the boys having fun in the pool. Esme came to join me, settling down with her shades and her blanket; shielding her skin from the sun. They sparkled when exposed to sunlight, and even though we knew this, they were still worried about effecting Harmony.

She didn't seem too bothered though to be living with vampires, and she had seen their fast speed and their sparkly skin many, many times.

Seeing the boys and her 'daddy' sparkle in the pool didn't seem to faze her. I didn't even think she noticed.

"You and Maxi have blessed all of our lives, especially Harmony." She told me softly as she rubbed my hand. "You've all grown into wonderful, strong people. We are so proud."

"I'm so happy to be able to have a new life…" I thanked the Cullen's; grateful they had accepted us and made us feel special.

We were finally happy.

* * *

So, this story is done I think. Thanks for following it all the way, I'm so grateful. I do have other stories up, so feel free to read and review them too!:)

Sorry for any mistakes, I don't have time to proofread this...

I love you guys!


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